Slippery People

This is the second part of my thoughts on an Alcoholic Anonymous teaching about avoiding Slippery Places, Slippery People, and Slippery Things.

Something that is slippery is different from something that is slick. If you pick up something that is slick or step on something that is slick, you are almost certain to drop it or fall. If you know that it is slick ahead of time, you will probably find a different way of accomplishing your task rather than picking it up or stepping on it.

If you pick up something that is slippery, or step on something that is slippery, there is a chance that you might drop it or fall, but it is not inevitable, if you are cautious. Therefore, if you know ahead of time it is slippery, you might go ahead and carefully do it. That is why slippery is more dangerous that slick.

For a recovering compulsive overeater, slippery people are dangerous. They are your friends. They are fun. They are probably obese. They love to eat and they always have food around. They love you and they love it when you eat with them. Right? Inwardly they will be jealous of you for finally gaining control over your 'addiction lion' called food and they will even admire your strength and 'will power'. However, because of their jealousy, they may try to subtly tempt you into returning to your old ways. They may not do it on purpose, but trust me, they will be glad (even if they don't say so) when you once again join their happy, but miserable overeating clan.

Oh, yes, your addiction may be enough under control that you can be around these people and not overeat. For a while. But little by little, bite, by bite, you will slip, yes, slip back into your old ways. It is almost unavoidable. I am not being pessimistic or negative. I am being realistic.

So what do you do? You can find new friends and never, ever see your old eating buddies again. That is only partially realistic. What if the slippery people in your life are your family? Totally avoid them? Not possible.

I don't think it is realistic to completely change our circle of friends and certainly our family. You just do your best to avoid situations where there are the types of food that will tempt you to overeat. Again. do your best. Personally, it was helpful for me to bring food to family gatherings that I can eat. Taking care of your dietary needs yourself, will give ensure there is food present you can safely eat.

Being aware of the 'slippery' situation you are in, will make you more cautious about you eat. You must have your 'lion' on a short leash and tightly held.

Another Alcoholic Anonymous teaching is about taking one day at a time. I may not be able to do something for the rest of my life, but just for today, I can do it. Remembering back to my Overeaters Anonymous days, there were times when my prayer was not for the day. Instead it was, "Lord, help me make it though this meal." "Lord, help me make it to the next meal." "Lord, help me make it through this church dinner."

Yes, fighting a food addiction is hard, very hard, but God's grace is sufficient, not only for one day at a time, but for one meal at a time.

Slippery Places

This morning I was watching the news and, of course, one of the lead news stories was the continuing saga of Lindsey Lohan. I feel sadness for her. One of the news anchors said, "She has everything anyone could want, and yet she makes these bad decisions. Sad." The anchor was only partially correct, in my opinion. In some ways she is actually very poor. She is rich in what she doesn't need and has very little of what she does need to live a full and happy life.
Anyway, on this news program Danny Baldwin was brought on to discuss his feelings about Lindsey Lohan and her addictions. He has been through rehab many times with varying degrees of success and failure. At this present time he is apparently staying clean and sober.
As he spoke something he said caught my attention. He was talking about the 12 Step Program and shared that one of the things they learn in this program is to avoid "slippery places", "slippery people", and "slippery things".
That statement spoke volumes to me as a compulsive overeater, and it has been in my thoughts off and on all day.
For those of us who see overeating as an addiction, it is every bit as real as a drinking addiction, gambling addiction or any other kind of addiction. It is an addiction which can be every bit as difficult to overcome as any other addiction. That said, I still believe that we have choices. Yes, we can choose to not eat that 4th brownie or we can choose not to order the large double meat hamburger with extra cheese and fries. Yes, we can choose not to eat those things, but sometimes it is very very hard. Even when we do make the right choices for a season in our lives, staying 'on the wagon' and not ever abusing food again is realistically speaking almost impossible.
When I was a member of Overeaters Anonymous this analogy was used: Think of your addiction as a lion. For an alcoholic, drug addict, gambling addict, or any other kind of addict, you can take your lion, you addiction, lock him in a cage and leave him there. Never take him out again. As a recovering addict can never again take a drink, never again gamble, etc. You must leave the door to the cage closed. Though you may hear the lion roar, as long as he is in the cage, he will not control and destroy your life.
For a compulisve overeater our 'lion' is food. We cannot leave our lion in his cage. We must take our lion for a walk 3 times a day at least. Inevitably there will be times when we get 'scratched'. There will be times when we just eat too much of something. I will write more about that on another day.
A "slippery place" for a recovering alcoholic is a bar or another location where liquor is present. For me, a compulsive overeater, a slippery place is an 'all you can eat' restaurant. I will do just that---eat all I can!!!
Avoiding slippery places is, of course, easier said than done. If, as a compulsive overeater, you find your self in a 'slippery place', where the temptation to over eat is very strong, put a very strong leash on your 'lion' and don't allow yourself to engage in 'slippery eating behavior'.

This is my 6th day on this diet and I have had a great day, excellent energy level, no much hunger, and generally feeling good.