- Admit Powerlessness Over Food as a Form of Numbing or Avoidance:
- Type 9s often struggle with inertia, seeking comfort and avoiding any kind of inner or outer tension. This can lead to using food as a way to suppress uncomfortable feelings or avoid dealing with conflict, both within themselves and in their relationships.
- Acknowledge how relying on food to “keep the peace” internally or to maintain a sense of comfort has resulted in an unmanageable relationship with food.
Reflection question: “How have I used food to avoid difficult emotions, conflicts, or uncomfortable situations?”
- Recognize the Unmanageability of Avoiding Reality:
- Type 9s have a tendency to disconnect from their true feelings and desires, which leads to a sense of inner numbness. This can cause them to overeat, snack mindlessly, or lose track of their own health and well-being.
- Admitting that their strategy of avoiding discomfort by turning to food has led to unmanageability in their life is an important part of Step One.
Reflection question: “How has my habit of ‘going along to get along’ or avoiding tension made my relationship with food unmanageable?”
- Embrace Self-Awareness and Reconnect with Inner Desires:
- For a Type 9, Step One can help them recognize how they’ve lost touch with their true needs, feelings, and priorities. Overeating may have become a way to stay disconnected from their own desires.
- Step One encourages Type 9s to awaken to the fact that ignoring their needs or numbing out with food has not brought the peace they desire, but has instead made their life more chaotic.
Reflection question: “What are my true feelings or needs that I’ve been avoiding through my relationship with food?”
- Surrender the Desire for False Comfort and Ease:
- Nines often seek comfort in routines, habits, and familiar patterns, including overeating. Step One asks them to surrender the false sense of peace that food provides and begin addressing the discomfort they’ve been avoiding.
- Admitting powerlessness helps a Type 9 realize that they don’t have to maintain the status quo to avoid conflict or discomfort. Letting go of that need is the first step toward real change.
Reflection question: “How has my reliance on food for comfort led to more problems, rather than the ease and peace I was seeking?”
- Trust in the OA Process and Start Taking Action:
- Because Type 9s tend to procrastinate and resist taking action due to fear of disrupting their sense of calm, Step One can help them acknowledge that doing nothing or avoiding the problem only makes things worse.
- They can start trusting in the process of OA and the support of the community to take small, consistent steps toward change.
Reflection question: “How can I begin to take small actions today to address my unmanageable relationship with food instead of avoiding it?”
For a Type 9, working Step One is about waking up from the numbness they’ve lived in, acknowledging that their avoidance has led to unmanageability, and recognizing that true peace will come from facing their reality rather than escaping it through food. Surrendering to the OA process allows them to reconnect with their inner desires and begin the journey toward a healthier relationship with food.