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 …

At a recent OA speaker meeting, I was struck by a question asked during the Q&A session: “What did you do first?” My own answer is: First, I trusted that OA had a solution. I came to OA in either 2004 or 2005—I really cannot remember because I was in a food fog. I do remember that my ritual of …

Step Four: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Life is much different than I ever imagined it would be. And I’d have to say that, up until recently, that hasn’t been a good thing. As a kid, I was smiley and talkative: I loved people and loved any opportunity to chatter away to anyone and everyone. When …

Tradition Four: Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OA as a whole. I worked Step Four in order to take responsibility for my past actions. No one else could do it for me; no one else could even really tell me how to do it. Others could guide me, but I had to do …

Q. Why is mentioning a specific food or restaurant considered a trigger in an OA meeting? Is there an official OA stance on this subject? A. OA does not have an official stance, and mentioning or not mentioning trigger foods is not addressed in OA literature. Tradition Four gives groups the autonomy to make this decision for themselves, but the …

My family has a very strong work ethic that I inherited. However, I also had blind spots that affected my working life in ways I never grasped until I felt inspired to do a complete inventory of my job history. A new Fourth Step inventory is what it took to open my eyes to all the character defects and shortcomings …