Addictive Eaters Anonymous (AEA) Experience of Recovery
Some suffered from anorexia, bulimia or binge eating, some didn’t know how to stop emotional eating, and some exercised compulsively. Many of us have experienced different combinations of these conditions during our time as active addictive eaters. However the disease of addictive eating manifested, whether we did not know how to stop eating, or how to start, we were unable to sustain any control over our eating behaviours. Even if we did manage to control our eating or weight for a period of time, we were not happy, and inevitably slipped back into old food patterns. In our stories of recovery you will hear the solution we in AEA have found to the food obsession: Surrender, and a peaceful, joyous way of life based around the Twelve Steps of AEA.
This way of life is available to you, too. We suggest you listen to and read our stories of eating disorder recovery with an open mind. Focus on the similarities, rather than the differences.
Whatever your problem with food, AEA can help:
ANOREXIA - Afraid of food?
Do you try to control your weight by restricting food, eating small quantities or fasting? Are you obsessed with your body image and how you look? Have you used pills or compulsive exercise to control your weight? Find out how our anorexic members overcame these debilitating symptoms to find freedom from addictive eating.
BINGE EATING - Can’t stop eating?
Do you go through periods of controlled eating and then binge? Do you find you can exercise willpower in certain areas of your life, but not where food is concerned? Does the way you eat baffle you? Find out how some of our binge eating members have found release from food obsession by working the AEA Twelve Step programme.
BULIMIA - Eat and then purge?
Do you have a secret life where food is concerned? Have you used compulsive exercise, laxatives or vomiting to try and control your weight? Do you find it exhausting trying to maintain a ‘normal’ weight? Find out how our bulimic members have turned their lives around through the Twelve Steps of AEA.
COMPULSIVE EXERCISE - Exercising to eat?
Do you exercise compulsively to control your weight? Are you constantly at the gym, out running, or thinking about working out? Are you damaging your emotional, physical or psychological health by trying to get an ‘ideal’ body weight? Do you obsess about burning calories and exercise to compensate for eating food? Find out how AEA members found relief from compulsive exercise.
FEELING DEPRESSED - Finding life hard?
Does the way you eat make you feel depressed or low? Has life stopped feeling good and lost its meaning? Does your eating cause you to feel listless or numbed out? Does your relationship with food make you feel isolated from family, friends and loved ones? Find out how AEA members have used the Twelve Step programme to overcome the low feelings associated with addictive eating and go on to live joyful, positive lives.
OBESITY - Weight affecting your life?
Are you always on diets but unable to stick to them? Are you preoccupied with your weight? Do you constantly think about food? Is your weight causing you health problems? Are you considering or have you had weight loss surgery? Find out how AEA members are finding relief from addictive eating, maintaining a healthy body weight and living happy, useful lives.
OBSESSION - Obsessed with food?
Do you obsess about your weight, food, or exercise? Is food just one of your many obsessions? Are you also struggling with alcohol or other mind-altering substances? Do you use mind-altering substances to change the way you feel? Find out how AEA members have put down the food and other mind-altering substances and found freedom from obsession.