It may not be intuitive, but many anorexics and bulimics also struggle with compulsive overeating. When starving and purging have subsided, a ravenous craving can come on us, and a binge and compulsive eating period can occur. We all, no matter how our bodies look, have these issues with food, where we find food controlling our lives.
It is not that food has some uncanny power; it is the underling anxieties, negative images, fears, and illnesses that drive us. Don’t be put off by the “Overeaters” in our name. Our name might suggest that being overweight is a requirement for membership. Today, we know that OA members experience many different patterns of food behaviors. There are so many more similarities between us than there are differences. Emotional eating dominates our lives, which is a problem for all of us.
These “symptoms” are as varied as our membership. Among them are:
- obsession with body weight, size and shape,
- eating binges,
- grazing,
- starving,
- excessive exercise,
- inducing vomiting,
- inappropriate use of laxatives or diuretics,
- chewing and spitting out food,
- fantasies about food,
- constant preoccupation with food.
What is an anorexic or bulimic going to get out of an OA meeting? More than you would expect…
A focus in Overeaters Anonymous is “Look for the similarities, not the differences.” That message, hear it.
We are all desperate to find some way to stop the insanity. We are all powerless over hurting ourselves with food. Food and eating had somehow taken over our lives and how we tried to deal with it was destroying our health, our relationships, everything. All of us struggle with a life where our emotions dominate our eating habits.
Come, sit in a meeting. Don’t be concerned with anyone’s appearance, especially your own. Don’t look at the outsides, listen to the insides. You will find a home.
