WHAT IS SURRENDER SCHOOL ABOUT? IS IT FOR YOU?

Welcome  to our supportive community. Surrender School provides directions for working the 12 steps. Working the steps  will give you the power you need to stop hurting yourself with food and food related behaviors. In addition to Big Book related literature, we offer optional assignments; readings, videos, podcasts, meetings, to support your recovery.  There are many paths to recovery and we recognize that one size does not fit all. We do not endorse any particular way of working the program. We offer Zoom Workshops for sponsees and sponsors which take participants through the 12 steps. Our Zoom book studies offer pathways to “Emotional Sobriety” which Bill W. writes is “the development of much more real maturity and balance” as he believes putting the booze down ( or in our case, food down) is only the first step (Bill Wilson’t Grapevine Article – Emotiioal Sobriety:The Next Frontier”. Our sincerest hope is that you find a path of recovery that works for you. We hope you find our site helpful and that we see you in our Zoom offerings.

NOW IN SESSION (Mar 2023) Join anytime (click here) Zooming for Recovery using “Emotional Sobriety” Get the book (click here) Choose Wednesdays or Sundays Wednesdays 2:00-3:00pm PT; Jan 4-Apr 19 Sundays 9:00-10:00am PT; Jan 8-Apr 23

COMING SOON (Jun 2023) Registration opens soon Zooming for Recovery using “The Gifts of Imperfection” Get the book (click here) Sundays 4:00 – 5:00pm PT; Jun 11 – Aug 6

COMING SOON (Aug 2023) Registration opens April 2023 Zooming for Recovery using “A Study Guide for Overeaters” Download the book (it’s free) Sundays 4:00 – 5:00pm PT; Begins Aug 27 This guide is a personal interpretation, for compulsive overeaters of the Big Book’s direction for working the steps.

 

1. Read the following sections from the AA Big Book:
   1. Preface
   2. The four forwards: 1st Edition, 2nd Edition, 3rd Edition, 4th Edition
   3. The Doctor’s Opinion
   4. Bill’s Story
2. Listen to this youtube on Step 1 
3. Watch this video on Step 1

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1. Read A Study Guide for Overeaters: Step 1, Part 2.
2. Read AA 12 & 12: Step 1.
3. Briefly describe your own Double Whammy:
   • Include an example of not being able to stop eating once you have started (the phenomenon of craving).
     • Example: I ate donuts until I fell into a food coma. When I woke up, I continued to eat them until they were gone.
   • Include an example of going back to the food after abstaining for some time (obsession of the mind).
     • Example: I swore off Oreo cookies 1,000 times. I didn’t eat them for over a month. Then one day, my boyfriend was late. I got angry, and thoughts of Oreos danced in my head. I tried to get them out of my mind, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t. So, I ate the whole bag.
4. Step 1 requires 100% acknowledgement of our powerlessness.
   • When you are restless, irritable, and/or discontented, do you ever use food to change the way you feel?
   • How is your life unmanageable?
   • Have you conceded to your innermost self that you have the Double Whammy? If so, you are a real compulsive eater and are powerless over food. You have taken Step 1.

The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) suggests that we addicts have a double whammy: an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind. The first part of the double whammy is an allergy of the body. An allergy is an abnormal reaction to a substance. When we food addicts eat our allergic foods and/or engage in compulsive eating behaviors, our bodies crave more and more. “Normal” eaters don’t experience the physical craving like we do. To become free from this allergy that is described in the Big Book? Abstinence is our only solution. The second part of the double whammy is an obsession of the mind. Obsession causes us to continue seeking our problem foods and behaviors even though they cause us harm.

To begin Surrender School, visit Begin Here This lesson addresses the allergy of the body, and enables us to claim our own powerlessness through identifying our addictive foods and compulsive behaviors. After you complete the Food First lesson, move on to Work the Steps which address the obsession of the mind. When we work each of the 12 Steps we can live free from the obsession of the mind.