Dual Problems

THERE WERE about twenty-five people at the meeting, and I knew most of them. It was a discussion meeting, and we went around the tables discussing the First Step. It was my turn, and I started as I almost always do: "My name is Barbara. I'm an alcoholic and a compulsive overeater," Someone snorted explosively. A man across the table stifled laughter with his hand. My stomach twisted, and my thoughts scattered. I said something--I don't know what--and passed. Later, one young man said he was "an alcoholic and an addict," and no one laughed.