The First Step is…We admitted we were powerless over food—that our lives had become unmanageable.

I was taught that the first half of the first step deals with my addiction. I have a physical allergy to certain foods and food behaviors and a twist of the mind that convinces me that I don’t have a physical allergy to certain foods and food behaviors.

The second half of the first step, the part after the dash, deals with the unmanageability of my life, the human part of me that convinces me that I am the center of the universe, and that I can control every aspect of my life and all the lives around me.

It’s the second half of step one that keeps me in a state of perpetual restlessness, irritability and discontent. Since I am a food addict (the first half of step one), I turn to food to quell those feelings, to take the edge off of my discomfort.

Even though the addiction drives me to the doors of OA, once I put down the food, I realize how powerless I am about EVERYTHING in my life and the second part of step one (the part after the dash) drives me to realize that I need POWER, a Higher Power and that realization propels me to the second step and then the third step and then the rest of the steps.

The second half of the first step is important for each step that comes after…it is what keeps me diligently working the following steps. If I don’t work ALL of the steps with my powerlessness in mind, I will revert back to that state of restlessness, irritability and discontent that drove me to seek comfort in food.

Working the steps, specifically 4-9, clean up the stuff that had been building up to cause all that restlessness, irritability and discontent and thus open the channel to conscious contact with Power. Steps 10 and 11 keep the channel open and connected on a daily basis and step 12, working with others and practicing the principles in all my affairs, guarantee that I will keep coming back to the principles and design for living that now allows me to manage my life, aligning myself with Power/Reality instead of self will and my distorted self-centered sense of reality.

And Step One is the underpinning of all the steps and this beautiful way of life. <style=”text-align: right;”=””> –Laura W., PA

From OA Brandywine IG January 2025 “Blast of Recovery” used with permission of the author</style=”text-align:>