I’m not an expert about eating disorders or weight loss surgery, nor do I ever want to portray one on this blog. One of the things that I always liked about OA is that nobody portrays themselves as experts or gives advice. (At least, nobody is supposed to.) We share about our own experiences — good, bad, or down the middle.
I’ve joined a couple of closed groups on Facebook. One is for Compulsive Overeaters. It is not an OA group, but many of the regular posters are in program. The other group is for people who are following the Always Hungry? plan. Nearly every day, I see people come to the groups who are newcomers and hope to find answers.
I can see myself in those people. When I first went to OA, even though I was familiar with 12 Step programs through my mom, part of me still held onto the hope that somebody would give me the magic answer that would solve all of my problems; the magic that would “cure” me.
No such magic exists because there is no cure for this eating disorder or any addictive disease. We’re never recovered. Instead, we are always seeking to be recovering. If I answer a question or say anything at all about the struggle and what I do or have done, it’s never with the idea of, “This is how you do it”. No, it’s definitely, “This is how I do it” or “This is what I’ve done” or “This is what I’ve discovered in myself”.
What happens with me might not happen to the next person. Definitely, there are commonalities among many people, but we aren’t carbon copies of each other. How my eating disorder manifests in me could be completely different than the person sitting next to me, so my recovery, what and how I need to do it, will be different.
It’s good for me to remember this as I participate more often in these online groups. I can see where some people appear to relish a role of more prominence and voice their opinions of what someone else needs to do. That kind of grates on me, particular when someone is talking to or answering me.
I might be an expert on myself, but never on anyone else. I want to always respect other people and what they experience and live with. If something that I share about resonates with somebody else, that’s one thing. I know that over the years, I have learned a great deal from others who share openly and honestly about themselves. That’s what works for me and, I hope, what works for others.
Weighty Matters 
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