OA Views on Eating Disorders or Weight Problems
Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is a nonprofit organization patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous that offers a three-fold recovery program from the disease of compulsive eating: physical, emotional, and spiritual. The OA program is an anonymous fellowship open to anyone with a desire to stop eating compulsively; there are no dues or fees. OA is open to compulsive eaters of diverse types: people with compulsive overeating, anorexia, bulimia, and combinations of these. We come in all varied sizes and shapes. Some of us come to OA from other recovery programs, and for others, OA is our first Twelve-Step fellowship.
We do not require following any food plan, as there are many factors involved in determining what is nutritionally sound and adequate. Nor do we have opinions on any other medical or psychological needs. Our members share their experience, strength, and hope along their path of recovery with one another. Members are free to “take what they like and leave the rest.”
Complementing the Professional Community with Overeaters Anonymous
Many professional organizations and institutions work with OA members to inform other professionals and the public about compulsive eating and the resources available in OA to address this problem. OA is not in competition with the professional community. On the contrary, many members consider OA to be a complement to the professional services they receive. In part, OA works because it offers an ongoing support system for members and encourages them to help one another, thereby weakening their isolation and loneliness. OA members provide this support by sharing their experience, strength, and hope with one another. OA claims no medical, nutritional, or psychological expertise. It suggests that interested members contact qualified professionals for help in these areas.
We are willing to meet with you or your patients to discuss the program and our individual experiences along the path of recovery if our anonymity is not compromised. We must always maintain our individual anonymity at the level of press, radio, television, and other forms of public media. If you would like to talk with someone, please contact us through our Service Board and someone will contact you shortly.
To read the latest News and Information for The Professional Community in the Courier newsletter for professionals. Check out this sample issue of the Courier. In this newsletter, you can read what other professionals have to say about Overeaters Anonymous.
We hope that this glimpse into OA will help you refer your patients to us. Many people have reached a healthy weight and maintained it by following this program of recovery.
