"Hello, my name is [anonymous] and I'm a compulsive overeater. It has been over nineteen years since my last Overeaters Anonymous meeting."
That statement is how I wrapped up my Monday and began a new journey.
I'm back in meetings after years of being away. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. I've realized that I am my own worst enemy when working a solo program of recovery. My eating was killing me, I've crippled myself with excess weight and lack of exercise, and my toxic thoughts had me living isolated and waiting to die.
This is the first post for my blog focusing on a life of recovery.
The tile of the blog, "Letters from Recovery" is intended to be prophetic. It's what I want rather than a statement of what I have. The title is also intended to guide me in crafting my posts, to keep the focus on recovery rather than the random thoughts of the day.
I'm writing this blog for several reasons.
First, it's (part of) my personal journal of recovery. There is a lot of empirical evidence to support the benefits of keeping a personal Journal. It’s supposed to help clarify thinking, dredge up memories and feelings, and help identify trends in thoughts and behaviors.
Second, using an online digital form allows for improved readability and organizing of entries. I have awful handwriting and my scrawled efforts on paper start at illegibility and quickly devolve into doodles. Using the blog format allows the material to be searched and accessed from anywhere online and organizes themes using tags.
Finally, it is possible that what I write will be of some value to someone else. Through sharing my experience in recovery I hope to help others who suffer from compulsive overeating and or with other life challenges. However, I'm not being all super altruistic and stuff, there is a selfish motive as well: In thinking that someone is reading what I write it may give me that added encouragement to "keep coming back" to this journal when I might otherwise let it slide.
So, welcome to my “Letters from Recovery” blog. I don't claim to have any deep, or even original, thoughts but I do hope that you find some value here. I look forward to sharing my recovery with you.
