Just wanted to say I’m really happy to be seeing active discussion on this particular topic!

All my best to all of you,
Baden

I’m certain you will overcome food addiction with GAPS and OA and I’m certain your gut will heal.

Yes, I know how in OA each person defines his own food plan, and I understand that there is pretty much common agreement about the “trigger foods” like white flour and table sugar.

However, what GAPS makes clear is that if a person has a problem digesting one type of food that is high in polysaccharides (wheat flour) or dissacharides (table sugar), then that person has a problem digesting _all_ foods that are high in polysaccharides and disaccharides.

I think you are very lucky to have the GAPS perspective going in to OA.

Yes, I cannot talk about this with AA’ers. I’ve tried, but they just don’t “get it.” In AA, food isn’t even _the_ problem, right?! So it’s very hard to convince AA’ers that starch & sugar causes us gut problems and malnutrition that in turn cause us mental problems like depression, anger, fear, etc. – the very problems AA’ers try to solve through the 12 steps.

I’ll look for you on GAPShelp,

Gerald

Also easing into OA. Reading up, attending meetings and soon to get a sponsor – she does not know much about GAPS but is open and supportive of the food program I choose. Don’t know how much you know about OA, but it is about using the 12 steps to overcome compulsive overeating. We even use and read from the big book. “Abstinence” in OA means whatever you decide you must abstain from — for me under GAPS it will not be about limiting quantities, but about abstaining from those foods that are not GAP legal — which of course, are all the foods most people in OA call their trigger foods, like sugar and simple carbs. I know what you mean about not being able to talk about it. We can’t even mention the food plans we’ve chosen at the meetings.

I’m really hoping that healing my gut and confronting my addictions to food will at last help me to see food like a normal person.

Mary E.

You’re following good paths.

I’m on Yahoo’s GAPShelp forum all the time. My handle is sundaesandapplepies.

There are other OA’ers and at least one other AA’er.

Actually, the topic seldom comes up, but I am looking forward to the day when I can chat at length with other AA’ers who can relate to the experience that I have had.

Unfortunately, GAPS is an unacceptable topic in AA meetings. I wish there were a place for AA GAPS patients to meet up, however, I’m not sure that there are very many of us in the world … but I would be happy to talk to anyone on this journey.

I am convinced that all alcoholics and addicts suffer from GAPS conditions to some degree, most to a very large degree.

I believe I understand why so few newcomers actually make it and also why true peace of mind can remain elusive for so many old-timers – it’s the food we’re eating, the complex carbs! as well as the other problems with our diets (low fat) and pharmaceuticals, etc..

All of the riddles and unanswered questions from my 15 years sober in AA have been answered to my satisfaction. All the dots have been connected. This is exciting!

Gerald

Not a lot more info coming through on this yet, but please do look at Dr Natasha’s FAQ page under the subheading ‘Addictions’.

One caution – In GAPS healing, it is very important to not restrict our quantities of food. Especially during intensive healing phases -intro, die-off, etc- the body often requires enormous amounts of food. It is important to honour the body’s needs in these phases and to not view this as ‘overeating’.

All my best,
Baden

TIA!
Alison Murphy

I am so excited to find your response because I am in an extremely similar place as yourself, and have been hoping for so so long now to connect with someone.

I will spare my full on story, but briefly I have dealt with fairly severe emotional – mental problems since I can remember that worsened at puberty, and recently have taken new turns. In the past 2 years I developed an eating addiction ironically alongside my research into food-mood connections and what is actually nourishing to our minds & bodies, but it seemed every new eating change I tried to make I could stick with for a short time but then get overwhelmed and the pendulum would swing way in the other direction and I would fall into bingeing – overeating like crazy.
In the past 6 months, I started realizing how much this food addiction was starting to affect every aspect of my life.
So I’m trying to heal lifelong emotional-mental imbalances, a very unhappy gut, as well as overcome this food addiction. Needless to say I’ve been a little overwhelmed, but slowly finding my way to what I need to heal. I believe GAPS is one more crucial piece in my puzzle, as well as just this week joining a 12-step overeaters anonymous group. I’m feeling more stable than I have in maybe forever, but still hesistant and feeling very isolated from friends & family in these new lifestyle changes. I see so many people around me, including as you saw in AA I see in all the other overeaters, that I believe are suffering from simliar gut unhappiness, but yet I cannot bring any of this healing wisdom to them unless they want to hear it. I suppose the best way to do so is to give my own personal example, and I am really just getting started on what I know will be a long, lifelong journey.
It’s very inspiring to read your words of recovery, it would be great to be in touch.
Laura

Ideas for connecting…

1. In the GAPS support forum, type ‘addicts, 12 step members, etc’into a subject line of a post. Few people are able to read all posts, and this will grab the attention of folks on a similar journey.

2. Offer to be a phone or email contact for people in addiction recovery. You could be added to our group’s phone support list in that context, and/or I could list you on my blog’s “support” page.

3. Use wordpress.com to create a simple webpage or site, offering your experience. I could link to that on my blog’s “support” page.

All my best,
Baden

After 36 hours on the diet, all of my mental troubles evaporated. The specter of depression that had haunted me since my earliest childhood memory vanished, never to return, not even for a moment. That was a year and a half ago.

GAPS has given me more than what AA ever promised me. At AA meetings, I have to bite my tongue and sit on my hands – I see and hear GAPS in every person’s sharing, but I’m obliged by our traditions to carry the AA message only, not to bring an outside message like the GAPS message to the meetings.

I’d like to be placed in contact with fellow alcoholics, addicts, 12-Step members, etc., who can relate to GAPS.