A Disease of the Body
When we attempt to live with & endure a Past Trauma Memory or PTSD., in the present, this effects us mentally, physically and emotionally.
In this post I will be sharing the findings of another health professional Dr. G. Lindner M.D. please keep an open mind and replace the terms with your condition, responses & coping skills.
The bottom line is, there is no-one on this earth who can fix you or heal your past, but with the help of God, you can fix and heal you.
A DISEASE OF THE BODY
I was most pleased several years ago, to be invited as a representative of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians [a medical scientific society devoted to the study of obesity & allied conditions ] to attend an annual convention of Overeaters Anonymous. I have since then, attended several others. I was also privileged to attend some local meetings.
The basic concept of Overeaters Anonymous is that the compulsive overeating is a disease that effects the person on three levels- physically, spiritually & emotionally. Members of OA feel that, like alcoholics, they are unable to control their compulsion permanently by unaided willpower.
#1‘Obesity is unquestionably, one of the major health problems in the united states today.’
In fact it is a problem common to all affluent societies. Estimates as to the number of overweight individuals in the united states range from 10 to more than 70 million [at the time of writing this],depending on what criteria us is used to classify an individual as obese.
‘Furthermore, in recent years there has been a steady increase in the number of overweight persons.’
This is due to many factors. Chief among them is our success in creating an abundant food supply. while our physical activity continues to diminish.
To indicate the magnitude of the menace, a Gallup Poll, in 1973 revealed that 46% of Americans polled that they felt overweight, while less than 8% thought they were underweight. Out of every 10 persons, 4 or 5 were doing something to control their weight. Senator George McGovern’s committee hearing disclosed that obesity nourishes a 10-billion-dollar industry, with 100-million -dollars yearly being spent for reducing drugs alone. The US Public Health Service estimates that at least 60 million Americans weigh more than they should. The most disturbing problem is that perhaps less than 5% of dieters are able to maintain weight loss for at least 5 years.
As a physician, my main concern with the obese is the medical risks to which their obesity exposes them. Such persons have a greater than 40% chance of dying in any given year from heart disease, a greater than 30% chance of dying from coronary artery disease, a greater than 50% death rate from a cerebrovascular disease[strokes] as well as an increased death rate from many other diseases. It has also been pointed out, recently that the risk of developing diabetes is increased two-fold by an increase of 20% in body weight. In women, there is also a significant increase in the development of uterine cancer, associated with excess body weight. In a recent study of 75.532 fat women, these were 16 diseases associated with obesity. Furthermore, obesity predisposes to high blood pressure, gallbladder disease & the formation of gallstones requiring surgery. Even babies, born of obese mothers, have more than twice the infant mortality of babies whose mother’s weights are normal.
Most individuals who join Overeaters Anonymous are aware of the risks. but ,like alcoholics, they are unable to control their compulsions on any lasting basis. they have completely lost faith in life and themselves. In OA, the hand of understanding & strength is extended to them by people who suffer the same compulsion & who are now examples that there is an answer. This probably explains the success of OA, with the hopeless obese person who has repeatedly failed, with the usual methods of weight control. I was extremely impressed with the friendliness and even the love between members that was easily observed at meetings.
Many OA members, are former participants [ and dropouts ] of commercial weight control groups, I observed a number of individuals who had been unsuccessful in the commercial organizations, but who had reached and maintained normal weight for a number of years after having joined Overeaters Anonymous. On being asked why they switched organizations, they were quick to inform me that the continual preparation of ‘free foods’ & ‘general preoccupation with food’, as sometimes expounded, only kept their food compulsion alive.
When Compulsive Overeaters realize that they cannot control their eating behavior they need to accept and depend upon another power- a power acknowledged to be greater than oneself. The interpretation of this power is left to the individual.
‘Many, perhaps most members of OA, adopt the concept of God’.
But newcomers are asked to keep an open mind on this subject, & usually they find it is not to difficult to work out a solution to this very personal problem, even if they are atheist or agnostic.
Psychologically, the obese individual is helped to attain a sense of reality & nearness of a greater power which replaces one’s egocentric nature. Then the person’s point of view and outlook will take on a Spiritual Coloring. Hence, when one no longer needs to maintain a defiant individuality but can live in peace and harmony with the environment, sharing and participating freely with other members of the group. This is a great Therapeutic Weapon that I; as a physician; who has worked with obese people for more than 27 years, can appreciate. The obese person no longer defies, but accepts help, guidance, & control from outside. As OA members, relinquish their negative, aggressive feelings towards themselves & towards life, they find themselves overwhelmed by positive feelings of love, friendliness, tranquility and a pervading contentment. These later feelings were evident among the groups I attended.
A word frequently heard in OA groups, is Surrender. It can be best described as ‘Letting Go’. The individual gives up personal rigidities; relaxes & admits to been beaten by Compulsive Overeating. The source of this feeling is almost always despair, which is so prevalent in newcomers, to the group. It is all part of a crisis experience with an overload of helplessness. In the act of surrender, one does not give up, but accepts a power greater than oneself, reducing the ego & admitting the need for outside help.
The ego reduction can be very profitable to the personality makeup of the person. It is important to differentiate between submission & surrender.
In submission a person accepts reality consciously ,but not unconsciously. There is acceptance that one cannot ,at the moment, conquer reality, but lurking in the unconscious is the feeling that:
“there will come a day, when I will be able to handle my problems on my own”
Submission implies no real acceptance of one’s inadequacy, on the contrary it demonstrates conclusively that the struggle is still going on. Submission is at best, a superficial yielding, with the inner tension still present.
When the individual accepts at an unconscious level that reality is not being able to handle compulsive overeating, there is no residual battle. Relaxation ensues with a freedom from strain & conflict. The freedom is the aim of OA groups, and Complete Surrender is manifested by the considerable degree of relaxation which is evident in the behavior of those who achieve it.
Once Compulsive Overeaters surrender at the unconscious level, their compliance with the disciplines of the program does not lessen with time, leading to the inevitable gaining of weight. They continue to get messages from the unconscious that the need for outside help will remain for a prolonged, if not indefinite period. Their wholehearted co-operation is forthcoming & constructive action takes the place of skin-deep assurances that they will merely comply temporarily until the memory of their suffering & self pity weakens and the need for compliance lessens.
‘Surrender then, is an unconscious event’.
It is not willed by the individual. It can only occur when one becomes involved with one’s unconscious mind in a set of circumstances which signal the undeniable need for An Eternal Outer Power. The definition of surrender can be understood only when all its unconscious ramifications & true inner meanings are glimpsed. Observed by others, such an individual manifests an inner calm and a ‘live & let live’ attitude.
In analyzing Overeaters Anonymous, I have reached a number of conclusions. there appears to be a deep shift in the individuals emotional tone; the disappearance of one set of feelings; & the emergence of a very different set. the member moves from a negative state of mind to a positive one. This may have the earmark of a Spiritual Conversion. Be that as it may, it is an effective transformation & essential for long term success.
By this I do not mean to imply that there are never any slipups, Indeed there are. But they are usually due to overconfidence, as people successful in the program & once again, become too preoccupied with themselves. As long as they attend group meetings, help is immediately available, inspiring them to return to Abstinence & to the 12 steps of recovery. they are neither judged or scolded. there are on weigh-ins. they can share their past experiences, their present problems & their hopes for the future with those who understand and support them & who speak their own language. Working with a Sponsor, the individual converses with a person who has been through similar experiences. Thus the communication between these two are at the same level. When OA’ers become Sponsors themselves, their loneliness is greatly alleviated. They are needed & accepted. This has a very potent, positive influence on weight maintenance.
OA literature suggests the newcomer visit a doctor to decide upon a plan of eating suited to both physical needs and family needs. I can verify that this was, indeed, the policy with a number of patients whom I referred to this group. OA is not concerned with the medical aspects of obesity, but with the compulsive nature of overeating.
i t is my firm belief, that Overeaters Anonymous has made a definite place for itself, in helping the obese individual, and renders a valuable service to such a person. The empathy & attention individuals receive at meetings during trying times, can be of great therapeutic value. Overeaters Anonymous can help individuals restore their faith in themselves , in others & give them hope for recovery. There is no other organization, lay or professional, that has such a profound influence on the compulsive overeaters thinking, and after all, it is our thoughts that precede our emotions; it’s our emotions that make us eat inappropriately & become physically obese.
Recovery in OA is on all three levels. It maty seem a tall order, but one which has the greatest chance.
It has been an honor and a most exciting experience for me as a professional to have the opportunity to get to know members of Overeaters Anonymous. I will forever be grateful to them for the good work they do in combating a major health problem in the United States.
Peter. G. Lindner M.D.
Dr. Lindner was past president of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians & Chairman of the board of trustees. He too received the 1975 Appreciation Award of Overeaters Anonymous in recognition of his work in the field of obesity & compulsive overeating & his efforts to bring the OA program to the attention of the medical community and the general public. Dr. Lindner passed away in 1987.
#1It’s estimated by the World Health Organization that approximately 3.6 percent of people worldwide are suffering from PTSD. In a WHO study of 21 countries, researchers found that as many as 10 percent of respondents had witnessed a traumatic event in the previous year. Many of these people will go on to develop PTSD
The total excess economic burden of PTSD in the US was estimated at $232.2 billion for 2018 ($19,630 per individual with PTSD). Total excess costs were $189.5 billion (81.6%) in the civilian population and $42.7 billion (18.4%) in the military population, corresponding to $18,640 and $25,684 per individual with PTSD in the civilian and military populations, respectively. In the civilian population, the excess burden was driven by direct health care ($66.0 billion) and unemployment ($42.7 billion) costs. In the military population, the excess burden was driven by disability ($17.8 billion) and direct health care ($10.1 billion) costs.
Conclusions: The economic burden of PTSD goes beyond direct health care costs and has been found to rival costs for other costly mental health conditions. Increased awareness of PTSD, development of more effective therapies, and expansion of evidence-based interventions may be warranted to reduce the large clinical and economic burden of PTSD.
Sadly, from the figures above it is clear that man-made solutions are not working, and can no longer be accepted as the answer. The only winners on this path at the provides of therapy, treatment and medication.
It is time to face the concept that a spiritual solution is the way forward. when a client talks about past trauma they feel it in their very being, in their soul, then cannot describe this event at that core level, no matter how they try. But by trying to do so, they dig a deeper hole in their souls.
They need to stop thinking they can fix or change any of it, to accept that how humanity is doing it up to now, is fruitless and embrace the Teachings of Christ, a tried and proven way to cast out ones demons. remember this is not submission, rather it is surrender to win!!
What Have We Got to Lose!
more to the point
What Have We Got to Gain!