Steps Traditions The Face of OA Recently, I came home after running a bunch of errands and realized I’d been wearing my name badge the whole time. Not only that, I had conducted my last transaction at a supermarket with mustard on my nose. I couldn’t help but wonder what people thought of me. What kind of impression did I make, and what would people think … Read More
Steps Willing Change I rely on the Principle of Step Six, “willingness,” one day at a time. I am willing to: take Step One (and continue to take Step One daily) work with a sponsor: get honest and drop the excuses and justifications that had taken over my life discuss my trigger foods and trigger behaviors, make a food plan, pray about it, … Read More
Steps Traditions Make a Right Turn If I wasn’t stuffing my mouth with food, I was “verbally vomiting” out of it! My former purpose in “venting” wound up revealing itself to me and others as a lack of acceptance and a failure to trust that God is in control. A lack of acceptance indicates discontent and disagreement; a discrepancy between the way people and things are … Read More
Traditions Autonomous Solution 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 … Read More
Steps Traditions Trigger Food Taboo 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 … Read More
Tools & Concepts Anonymity Benefits Wow! Anonymity is so important to OA, it’s part of the name of our organization. As Tradition Twelve states: “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.” The new second edition of the OA Twelve and Twelve does an excellent job of explaining the many ways we all benefit from anonymity. … Read More
Steps Traditions When Desire Works Tradition Three works. I believe the best way to show it is to share what I was shown when I first arrived in OA. All I wanted to do was lose weight while eating all my binge foods—was that too much to ask? I hated that I was unable to eat like my friends: they were skinny, yet here I … Read More
Steps Traditions Unity’s Answer Tradition One: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity. Nothing bonds relationships more comfortably than a common enemy. People are willing to put their differences, opinions, and beliefs aside when that common root helps everybody overcome. This is the heart that pumps the blood of OA. In the rooms, we all suffer from the same … Read More
Steps Traditions Saying the Words Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. Most days, I take personal inventory at the end of the day. It helps me sleep. I inventory fears, resentments, and stressful thoughts and beliefs. Wrongs seem to stem from those. I also list gratitudes, but not the things I think I should be grateful for. … Read More
Traditions Not an Expert Tradition Eight: Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. This Tradition has two parts to it. First, “Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional.” As I’m writing on this, I’m realizing now that one of my sponsors was evoking this Tradition with me. In her professional life, she was trained to be a therapist/counselor. … Read More
