Even in developed countries, as many as 20 percent of adults may not be literate enough to easily complete a job application. As OA members, we can be more sensitive and helpful to the non-readers among us. Here are some the things we can all do: Be sensitive to the possibility that others cannot read. Adult non-readers walk among us, …

I am a mother of a 14-year-old boy who I think may be a food addict. In going through the questions on your website, he answered yes to twelve of the Fifteen Questions. I would really appreciate if you could send me more information about the meetings you hold, and whether you think they will be suitable for us. Overeaters …

I am working through Step One with my sponsor. She suggested that I submit these two responses to her prompts: Write on the need not to push a person until they are ready. “Rock bottom” is a tricky concept. In AA’s Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions they had to “raise the bottom” (p. 23) for functioning alcoholics to benefit from …

I am having bariatric surgery. Is there an OA bariatric surgery support group? “Bariatric Surgery” is listed as a specific focus meeting type in Find a Meeting at oa.org, and there are a few OA meetings registered with this specific focus. OA has a policy statement on bariatric surgery: “In keeping with Tradition Ten, Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on …

Q: My sister tried to attend an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. She’s obese, with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. She’s also deaf. She was lucky enough to find a member of the group who knew American Sign Language and could sign for her. Unfortunately, one of the other group members complained that the signing was distracting. The translator felt …

In the past, whenever I got into a rut, had problems, felt angry, or couldn’t cope with stress, I would eat and eat and eat. Eating used to help, especially that first bite. But after that first bite, I would just automatically shove food into my mouth, and I wouldn’t stop until my jaws were tired. I was always hoping …

I walked into OA because all I could see before me was cycles and cycles of weight gain and loss, misery and short-lived false joy. I had to admit I did not want to live. I could not see the point of anything, and my only desire was to sleep or not be conscious because even excess sugar could not …

Four years ago, I returned to OA after a three-year relapse. At 47, I weighed more than ever, but that wasn’t why I returned. I came back because I had finally accepted that my way was never going to give me the life I desperately wanted. I am a compulsive overeater and a restricter and bulimic. I’ve been all different …

I’ve always been an introvert; God made me that way. I can still relate to others and can even be seen to enjoy folk’s company; however, this is only a mask I wear to protect my real self from intrusion into my preferred solitude. I know when this mask is in place, and it feels false and contrived to me, …

In times of fear and doubt, I can remember to ground myself in the fact of my abstinence. It’s simple: Before OA and the aid of a Power greater than myself, I could not live without compulsive overeating, exercise bulimia, and body image obsession. Now, one day at a time, I can. Starting in eighth grade, my eating disorder took …