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Twelve Steps for Overeaters

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a 12-step program based on spiritual principles, fellowship and the experience of other members within the program. These steps intend to help individuals have a better understanding of their relationship with food while addressing other physical and emotional issues. As well as having literature available, attending meetings with other members of OA is a strongly suggested component of this program.

  1. About OA

    • Overeaters Anonymous, despite its name, focuses on a host of issues surrounding a person's relationship with food. This can include binging and purging, anorexic behaviors, an emotional compulsion to eat for comfort, constantly switching from one extreme diet to the next, or otherwise continually focusing on food.

      OA is not a resource for diet or nutrition information and will not provide weight-loss tips. The program is intended for people to discuss their various issues with food and to have a safe and non-judgmental setting in which to do so. While OA does apply spiritual principles to their program, they do not focus on any one religion and do have agnositc and atheist members within their fold.

    The 12 Steps

    • The 12 steps of OA come from the 12 steps first attributed to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. They are intended to be worked through chronologically with a sponsor, a member of OA who has exhibited some understanding of the principles and have applied them to his or her daily life. There are no rules to completing the steps; you may take as much or as little time as you need to complete each step.

      Many people will complete one round of the 12 steps and then start again to see how their recovery has changed since their initial beginning. A list of the 12 steps and suggestions about how to work them can be found in the OA literature, "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous." This book is available at OA meetings or can be purchased and downloaded online at http://bookstore.oa.org/

    Attending Meetings

    • Meetings are an essential part of OA recovery. It is in this setting that newcomers will have the opportunity to meet other people who have struggled with food addiction and hear their stories as they find a way to recover from compulsive eating. People will also get a chance to share their experiences with others and find themselves in a group where they are understood for the first time. Meetings offer support in the form of finding sponsorship, offering fellowship outside the group and recognizing important milestones in a person's recovery.

      OA meetings are free of charge; people may voluntarily contribute if they have the financial means to do so. Since its beginnings in 1960, OA has remained self-sustaining. A list of meetings can be found by calling the hotline number listed in the White Pages of the phone book; or by accessing a local chapter of OA online.

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