Struggling with food? You're not alone!

I came into OA in February 1989. I stayed for twenty-one years through periods of abstinence and relapse, my wedding, jobs, having children, and the death of my father. I shared my problems and my willingness to work on my program. Eventually, I’d realize that the problems I obsessed about were solved. I’d move forward […]

I define addiction as the overpowering compulsion to do something that I know is going to hurt me. As an active addict, I lost the power to NOT eat food that I don’t even want to eat! Compulsive overeating is not just a bad idea; it is an addiction to substances and behaviors that affect […]

What was it like What happened And how it is today. My story starts straight forward But gets more complicated As I proceed. How do you explain the ins and outs From my first beginnings in the program To now, this very fruitful life. I’ve evolved and changed Through the course of years. At first […]

“Once we become abstinent, the preoccupation with food diminishes and in many cases leaves us entirely.” — Our Invitation To You. Before I came into OA, my disease didn’t know the difference between a holiday and a regular day. Any Tuesday in the middle of September was an excuse to overeat. Holidays just made it […]

Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs. “We’re always happy to share our secret: the Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous, which empower us to live well and be well one day […]

Please Pass Along These Important OASV Announcements – Remember, together we get better! SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR RECOVERY? GET INTO SERVICE! A vital part of our personal growth in OA that serves to deepen and enhance our recovery is service. All OA members share a responsibility for the operation of OA. We encourage you to consider […]

Step Twelve: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.  “We’re always happy to share our secret: the Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous, which empower us to live well and be well one day […]

Do butterflies recall caterpillar days: Green bloated bodies chewing leaves into lace, spinning themselves into shrouds of blessed invisibility? Do swans relive ugly-duckling beginnings, avoiding their own reflections in barnyard mirrors, forced into shame by the jeers of the cuter species? Frozen by familial terms of cruel endearment, a cowardly bookworm devouring fantasy stories of […]

More and more, with each passing year, I count the many blessings that have come from working the Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous. Today, deep in my heart, I can really FEEL the experience of “my cup runneth over.” This feeling doesn’t come from an overflow of food (as once was the case), but from […]

I Swirling confusion spirals around me. I’m caught in a whirlpool of behavior, emotion, belief, and memory that I can’t reconcile. I fight against the current, swim away from the vortex. I’m so tired, so sad. I long to surrender to the tide, but I choke back the tears, and insomnia protects me from my […]

Saturday (9/11/21) was the 20th Anniversary of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the militant Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States of America on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I spent much of that particular weekend reading about that day’s infamous events and watching a very detailed (and amazingly thorough) documentary that […]

Tradition Eleven: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television and other public media of communication. “When we maintain our Tradition of anonymity, we ensure that Overeaters Anonymous remains a spiritual Fellowship, supporting all of us in our […]