About Face: I Turned to Program to Deal with a Challenging OA Member

I must . . . practice acceptance, no matter how uncomfortable that may feel. I am currently having difficulty practicing “principles before personalities” (Tradition Twelve). We have a challenging OA member at one of my meetings. Her attendance is erratic, but when she is there, the meeting immediately takes on an “uptight and on-alert” vibe, … Continued

OA Has Transformed My Outlook on Life

Elaine from New Zealand reflects on Lifeline and the amazing changes OA has brought to her life. “The OA program works. . . . Though I have wanted to leave many times, I have stayed and begun to see the transformation of my outlook on life.”

I Used Food to Outrun the Pain of My Childhood Sexual Abuse. But I’ve Found Empowerment in Overeaters Anonymous, and Now There’s No Need to Run

The sexual abuse that Blanca suffered as a child led her to gain weight in an attempt to make herself less attractive, and led later to multiple suicide attempts. Thankfully, her desperate attempts to outrun her pain were soothed and solved in Overeaters Anonymous. “My practice of the Twelve Steps leaves me with some very empowering ways of seeing life,” she says. “My smiles . . . . are coming from a place of inner peace, confidence, and happiness.

I Gained Weight After Bariatric Surgery, and I Am Neurodivergent. I Just Celebrated 90 Days of Abstinence in OA

“For decades, I tried every diet plan, no matter how crazy.” says Denise M. from New York USA. When she started gaining weight after bariatric surgery, “Something in me snapped! ‘No! I was not going to be one of those statistics,” she thought. She tried OA and found Neurodiverse/neurodivergent specific-focus meetings. And 90 days of abstinence. “I found my tribe,” she says.

Freedom Ride: Abstinence from Binge Eating on the Drive Home from Work

Martine from Texas USA used to binge eat on the way home from work, stopping at multiple fast food drive-thrus. “But tonight . . .,” she says, ”I thanked my Higher Power . . . and the OA program for giving me the freedom . . . to look back on my day of healthy and abstinent eating.”

My Compulsive Physical Hunger Was Impersonating a Spiritual Hunger

Sepidah, an OA member from Iran, came into the program feeling physically, mentally, and spiritually bankrupt. “I could barely bear the weight of my soul,” she says. Through OA and working the Twelve Steps, however, she has found a workable solution. “I am calm,” she says. “I sleep more peacefully . . . and I have better balance in working the Steps.”

Somehow in All the Mess, OA Made Its Way Back to Me

Abused from age 6, Linda started eating compulsively at an early age. As a young adult, she was unable to grasp the nature of her problem with food. When health problems mounted, and she was unable to cope, “I threw in the towel,” she says, “by overeating.” And that’s when the message of OA started making sense.