Hi Julie
I have been doing the program for about 20 years. I can tell you from experience that the program is not something with a fixed end point. There are always new things to learn, and adjustments to make as your life and lifestyle change, your body changes, you add in new activities etc. I have also found that recovery isn't something with a fixed endpoint. My life is like a giant spiral, where the same issues come up at intervals, but as my recovery grows, my response changes and I heal more.

What if you looked at the program as a life-long process instead of a goal to reach? If you took things nice and slowly, and remained open to continuous learning and improvement? Step 7 is a continuously expanding step, and not only that, but as you continue with the program, you will go back and periodically revisit one of the earlier steps and adjust it for changes in your life. Over the years I've made lots of adjustments because the way I was doing the program when I started doesn't work for my current lifestyle because of things like exercise, long commutes, menopause etc.
Allison

: I appreciate all the responses and
: different perspectives on this
: question. Thank you, everyone!

: Reading your replies and reflecting
: on all your experiences over the
: past several days has got me to
: think of my own pattern and
: personality. I guess that's why
: this question had been nagging at
: me. I am the kind of person who
: goes into things 110%, completely
: committed. I accomplish my goals,
: feel good about myself, and then
: there's this let-down where I
: don't know what to do with myself.
: Instead of just enjoying the
: accomplishment, I tend to start on
: a dark path spiraling down into
: depression. Which, of course,
: makes no sense. (For example, from
: the first day of Kindergarten, I
: decided I wanted to be a teacher.
: I went straight through school
: with that goal. I came from a
: poor, single parent family and had
: to put myself through college. I
: got my first teaching job at 23.
: And my first serious depression.
: And as soon as I started crawling
: out of the depression, or perhaps
: in order to get myself moving out
: of it, I started working on a new
: goal. I went back to school for my
: master's degree.) I guess my
: enthusiasm for the program scares
: me because I know, deep down, that
: I need this. I don't want to
: accomplish it and then
: un-accomplish it (lol).This
: program is for me. I am sugar
: sensitive, and nothing else has
: ever worked for me. I know this is
: my only hope. So I have a deep
: fear of reaching the end and
: turning right back around and
: returning to the dark place of
: addiction and misery. It's not
: guilt and shame--it's the
: emotional roller coaster I loathe.
: And for me leaving the program
: wouldn't be to try something new.
: It would be a response to not
: knowing how to deal with the
: let-down of accomplishing this
: goal. I don't know if this makes
: any sense.

: But in any case, I sense that this is
: different because it's not a
: personality thing; it's a brain
: chemistry thing. It boggles my
: mind that it can be healed. I
: sense that I'm so messed up I
: don't even know where to begin in
: understanding it all.

: So I guess I'll just focus on doing
: the food, lol.

: Julie