I'm A New Person, A Completely New Person - Margaret's Story

I went on the course because I had been struggling with depression and compulsive eating for years. I’d had many years of counselling and been on numerous diets — but in truth I was getting bigger and bigger, and more depressed.
I started to go to the Celebrate Recovery meetings and hoped for a quick fix to my two problems. But, in fact I discovered that these two problems were not my issues at all — they were symptoms in a much larger picture. With my sponsor’s support, I discovered over the many months that the depression and compulsive eating were a way of dealing with a lifetime’s worth of emotional baggage. I was still carrying hurts, guilt and shame from my childhood — and had picked up more and more along the way. It was as if there was so much baggage that you couldn’t see me anymore — I was swamped: it was no wonder I felt so depressed.
Because the course was nine months long, it allowed God, my sponsor and me to unload each bag one at a time. It was never more than I could cope with. As each heavy load was lifted I began to feel lighter and lighter. I could see God more clearly, and I finally began to find me again under all the mess.
A year ago I felt jealous, lonely, angry, full of shame, worthless, inadequate, depressed, fearful, rejected and com-pulsive. I was struggling to find my identity. I was a different person in different situations and felt like a hypocrite.
Today I am a new person — a completely new person.
I’m forgiven — by God and myself. I have increased confidence and am sure of my identity - based on God’s truths. I have real trust in God for the first time and I know he provides all of my needs. I am less inward looking, I’ve finally made real friends and am now able to help others around me. Because God has dealt with, and removed, all my baggage, my depression is gone, my relationship with food has completely changed and in all I’ve lost over three stones in weight.
It is the best money I’ve ever spent on myself!