Healthy Program Boundaries The Tenth Tradition, like so many other Traditions, keeps OA meetings focused on the OA message of recovery through the Steps, Traditions, and Tools. It sets a healthy boundary as to what is appropriate to say in a program setting and discourages digression into outside issues. I’ve learned about setting healthy program boundaries by seeing the Traditions in action at meetings. I try to keep the … Read More
Nothing Stopping Me “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” (Step Two). That is all I heard twenty-two years ago when I went to my first OA meeting, and I’ve held onto that Step since. God could restore me to sanity, and he did. During all these years, I’ve never even thought to or wanted to leave this lifesaving program. At my first meeting, … Read More
Making OA More Accessible In May 2019, three of us founded an atheist/agnostic face-to-face meeting in Bethesda, Maryland. We’d already had nineteen people at our most recent virtual meeting and had launched a second meeting online. Our purpose has been to help make the OA community more accessible to people who do not believe in a deity or have unconventional beliefs. We begin our … Read More
Big Transformation “Hi, my name is Caroline, and I am a compulsive overeater”—I would not say this when I came into the rooms in 1999. I found OA through another fellowship in which I was recovering and very active. I was fluctuating between 224 and 238 pounds (101–107 kg), so evidence of my addiction was clear to all, but not to me. … Read More
Real Meetings I remember ten years ago or so emailing my sponsor and asking her if an online meeting was really a meeting. Her immediate response was “absolutely.” Thank heavens she said that. Her support helped quiet that perfectionist in my mind that was telling me I had to go to a face-to-face meeting or it wouldn’t count. Yes, face-to-face meetings are … Read More
Diversity and Disability 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 … Read More
Day or Night I need a traveling program, one that is available to me 24/7. I have used our website, oa.org, a lot. I’ve looked up in-person meetings when I travel. This past November, I was traveling on the East Coast (I live on the West Coast), and I searched and found a meeting for every day that I was available, including a … Read More
Special Focus Meeting I have a question regarding special focus meetings. I see that there is a selection of special focuses, including 100-pounder, anorexia/bulimia, and bariatric surgery. I am wondering if that list represents the only special focuses approved for OA meetings, or if it is allowable to have an OA meeting with another special focus. The special focus that I have in … Read More
Strong Service Bodies “What on earth do service bodies and OA’s service structure have to do with me?” you might ask. “I just go to meetings. That other stuff is for older people in the program.” OA’s service structure has a lot to do with you, if you’re an OA member and you value your program, your recovery, your meetings, and your life. … Read More
Just Like Me Attending my first OA meeting was the result of seeing some dramatic changes in a close friend. We had known each other long enough that we knew each other’s big secret: We were compulsive eaters. It was fine to share such an intimacy on a personal level, but the thought of doing it in a room full of strangers seemed … Read More