<> 

WHAT IS OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS?

OA is a Fellowship of men and women who meet to share their experience, strength, and hope with one another in order that they may solve their common problem and help those who still suffer to recover from compulsive overeating.

 

PURPOSE OF OA

Our primary purpose is to stop eating compulsively...and we welcome in fellowship and friendly understanding all those who share our common problem.

  

REQUIREMENT FOR MEMBERSHIP

A desire to stop eating compulsively.

 

COST FOR MEMBERSHIP

There are no dues or fees for OA membership. We are self-supporting through our own contributions.

  

ARE YOU A COMPULSIVE OVEREATER?

1.     Do you eat when you're not hungry?  

2.     Do you go on eating binges for no apparent reason?  

3.   Do you have feelings of guilt and remorse after overeating?  

4.   Do you give too much time and thought to food?  

5.   Do you look forward with pleasure and anticipation to the moments when      you can eat alone?  

6.    Do you plan these secret binges ahead of time?  

7.    Do you eat sensibly before others and make up for it alone?  

8.    Is your weight affecting the way you live your life?  

9.     Have you tried to diet for a week (or longer), only to fall short of your goal?  

10. Do you resent others telling you to "use a little willpower" to stop overeating?  

11. Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert that you can diet "on your own" whenever you wish?  

12. Do you crave to eat at a definite time, day or night, other than mealtime?  

13. Do you eat to escape from worries or trouble?  

14. Have you ever been treated for obesity or a food-related condition?  

 15.  Does your eating behavior make you or others unhappy?

 

Have you answered yes to three or more of these questions? If so, it is probable that you have or are well on the way to having a compulsive overeating problem. We have found that the way to arrest this progressive disease is to practice the twelve-step recovery program of Overeaters Anonymous.  

 

 

WHAT OA OFFERS YOU

Acceptance of you - as you are now, as you were, as you will be.
Understanding of the problems you face now - and share, almost certainly, with others in the group.
Communication - since we find that we identify with each other, communication becomes the natural result of our mutual understanding and acceptance.
Relief - having found acceptance, understanding, and communication with others, we have found relief from our illness and help toward a new self-acceptance and self-understanding.
Power - by the acceptance and understanding of oneself, by the practice of the twelve-step recovery program, by the belief in a power greater than oneself, by the support and companionship of the group, a door is opened to a new way of life.

 

IS OA FOR YOU?

Only you can decide that question...no one else can make this decision for you. We who are now in OA have found a way of life which enables us to live without the need for excess food. We believe that compulsive overeating is a progressive illness...one that, like alcoholism and some other illnesses, can be arrested. Remember, there is no shame in admitting you have a problem; the most important thing is to do something about it.

 

The Twelve Steps and The Twelve Traditions  

  From A Program of Recovery, © 1979, by Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.
Reprinted with permission of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.

 

TWELFTH STEP PRAYER      Dear God,  My spiritual awakening continues to unfold. The help I have received I shall pass on and give to others, both in and out of the Fellowship.  For this opportunity I am grateful. I pray most humbly to continue walking day by day on the road of spiritual progress. I pray for the inner strength and wisdom to practice the principles of this way of life in all I do and say.  I need You, my friends, and the Program every hour of every day. This is a better way to live.

go back to home page click here