Diversity Newcomers What OA Is Not I realize after six months in OA that when I ate in the past, I was searching for the good feelings I had as a child. I remember happy family gatherings centered on food: family reunion picnics, camping trip cookouts, holidays, and celebrations. The fun and happiness had disappeared from my life. Why? I ate the same foods as I had … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse Imperfect, Upward Climb The strength and hope that my Higher Power and Overeaters Anonymous give me are gifts greater than the physical changes I longed to see when I first came into the program. But I haven’t always known these tremendous gifts. Like a hamster running on a wheel, my compulsive overeating, food and dieting obsessions, and bulimia kept me running from the … Read More
Anorexia & Bulimia Diversity Love and Light When I was 60 years old and abstinent for six months, I had overwhelming feelings. I felt as if I were going crazy. How did people do this without medication? As time went on, I became more desperate, going to two or three meetings a day, meditating, doing Step work, and making outreach calls. Nothing gave me the peace I … Read More
Recovery Relationships A New Love Song In my late 30s, I got way too excited about writing songs with my church’s music director. For several months, as we collaborated, I flirted with him and got enmeshed with his dream of selling songs commercially. I’d always been overweight, but during this time I was so alight with creative and sexual energy that I barely slept or ate, … Read More
Atheists & Agnostics Reliance, Not Defiance When I came into Overeaters Anonymous almost twenty-one years ago, I came for a diet. I needed to lose a lot of weight and keep it off! Countless doctors had assured me of the dire necessity of this; plus, my weight was impeding my interactions with my husband, children, friends, and professional life. What I didn’t think I needed was … Read More
Spirituality All I’ve Ever Wanted I have been maintaining an abstinent weight of 125 pounds (57 kg) since September 2015. My early life was what I’d call a perfect breeding ground for addiction: I grew up in an alcoholic home full of insanity, loud arguments that got my heart pounding, shame, abandonment, and no talk of a Higher Power at all. I remained hyper vigilant, turning … Read More
Keep Coming Back Relapse Different Ways of Finding Recovery Editors note: Below are two world service contributions from OA members in support of our Strategic Plan. In August 1999, I was desperate and obese. I was still pleasant at work but not at home. I had reached the point where I couldn’t stop eating but the food was no longer satisfying, so I had nothing to live for. A … Read More
Traditions Business Plan It was the end of the month, so I attended business meetings for the two groups I regularly attend. Business meetings can be challenging because we all care about our meetings but often have different perspectives and opinions. When a sensitive issue affecting the group is on the agenda, the discussion can become intense. I have an action plan for … Read More
Higher Power Spirituality Different Spiritual Beliefs Editors note: Below are two world service contributions from OA members in support of our Strategic Plan. When I first came to OA in 2005 at 275 pounds (125 kg), I thought I had the God thing down. Others might have trouble with the concept, but I had spent years studying theology, was working as a religious professional, and was … Read More
Recovery Relationships A Gift from Grace Before I returned to OA in 1999, my life was a prison of my own making, and I had no visitors. It was a world of isolation because all I trusted was food and how good it made me feel in the moments I was consuming it. My compulsive overeating began when I was 5 and a half years old. … Read More