Sugar Addiction

Stories about sugar addiction....

CONFESSIONS OF A SUGAR ADDICT

In my younger days I had seen my friends get hooked on drugs with needles, hot knives and other paraphernalia. My own grandmother was a Valium Queen and my parents were always taking some kind of pill. After some mild experimentation I decided to avoid this rather obvious anti social behavior and instead opted for the more socially accepted addictions of caffeine and nicotine, compulsive overeating, compulsive gambling and alcoholism. I am so glad we have choices! I loved all my addictions!

According to our recovery reference manual, Alcoholics Anonymous, our disease is a threefold one, consisting of a chemical addiction, an emotional dysfunction and a spiritual shortfall. No one is sure which one comes first in the downward spiral. The unanimous consensus in the recovery from any addiction is that a spiritual admission of powerlessness followed by the removal of any offending addictive substances is required in order to provide an atmosphere for emotional well being. The tapering off method went out with bellbottoms - way back when!

For obvious legal reasons, OA as an organization, cannot suggest which foods to avoid as everyone reacts differently to and needs to assess their own needs with the help of a qualified expert who is familiar with their specific health requirements and addictions (addicts sometimes fail to disclose their addictions to professionals), but ask any old hillbilly what he needs to make his porchclimber!! Sugar of course !!

If you require a little more scientific explanation, go back to your high school chemistry books and look up  the chemical notations for alcohol and also for refined sugar. They are not much different. In fact, a diabetic can test positive for alcohol in a drug test without ever consuming it and a gamblers drug is entirely produced within the body! 

Now for the confession. I am a sugar addict, i have stolen it, lied for it, put it between myself and the people I care about, and put it ahead of my normal and regular responsibilities. I have overdosed on it to the point of causing me serious obesity and asthmatic conditions.

How sweet it is!!

I am so glad we have choices! I am recovering from this addiction in OA, I choose to avoid refined sugars in all forms. I read labels on grocery items and ask restaurants to prepare my portions without sugar. This in turn provides me with an environment in which i can recover physically, emotionally and grow spiritually by using my God given talents in creative ways. I am also maintaining a 100 pound weight loss.

So that's my story and I am sticking to it ...

PART 2 :“SAINTHOOD OR SPONSORSHIP”

Physical, Emotional, Spiritual. Where does real recovery start?

In part one, it was suggested that the consensus in the recovery community was that a spiritual admission of powerlessness, followed by the removal of any offending addictive substances, (including those substances produced totally by the body as a result of gambling, over-exercising, fantasizing, relationship & sex addictions, to name a few.) is necessary to provide an atmosphere conducive to emotional and physical recovery. This would be the first step. “We admitted we were powerless.......”

Oh yuk!!! This does NOT seem like a lot of fun! It seems like all of this has to do with ME! Why can’t I just blame someone else? Well the truth is real easy! Sure you can! Go ahead!! Stop reading right now! Just don’t expect any progress.

Ah! Still reading? Ok, where do we start? Sainthood or Sponsorship?

Sainthood is OK but it might be kind of lonely..... and not everyone is cut out to be perfect in everyway (except possibly this writer). Sponsorship? What the he... is that? Who would I pick and how could I ever let anyone know all about me? 

What if they told someone that I drank truckloads of coffee, played bingo until all my fingers turned blue, and had a raging fantasy about Pierce Brosn...! There’s something about his eyes......! 

But really, what if you did have some very serious issues? Well then, keep the really serious ones to yourself and just talk about socially acceptable issues. NOT!!! “Now” is the time to open up and get out of that deadly isolation. Let someone know who you really are!

It doesn’t even matter how long you’ve been coming to meetings! You might be brand new or you might have been around a long, long, time. Everyone benefits by sharing their issues. Maybe you had a really tough childhood and kept it all bottled up all these years by using your eating disorder and/or some other control mechanism. Or you may have had some bad family, career or relationship situations, everyone has grief about something, (unresolved grief issues are often misdiagnosed in ‘addicts’ as depression), share it and get on with your life. Climb every mountain! Ford every stream!

You are only as sick as your secrets! 

A good sponsor can help you accept that you are not alone with your secrets and if you do have some issues that require action or attention a good sponsor can be an invaluable support person. A good sponsor can also be invaluable in assisting you to develop and maintain your plan of eating. So, get rid of that old baggage and those redundant behaviours! Soar with the eagles! 

Sainthood or sponsorship, it’s your choice.

Dean B.