Overeaters Anonymous (OA)

OA Resources

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Overview

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) has three main parts which make up the foundation of the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) program. They are Recovery, Unity, and Service.

Recovery is taking the 12 Steps of Overeaters Anonymous (OA) with a step guide or “sponsor”, in order to heal our damaged spirits, rebuild our lives, and recover from compulsive eating and food behaviors. Taking the 12 Steps involves reading Overeaters Anonymous (OA) literature, writing, praying, meditating, making restitution to people we have harmed in our past, doing service work, and attending Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meetings, among others.

Unity is getting involved with the people, the group, and the fellowship of Overeaters Anonymous (OA). It means arriving at Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meetings early and talking to people. Attending the meetings and going out with people from the meetings after the meetings. Attending OA activities like retreats, conferences, roundups, speaker meetings, sober parties, sober athletic and music events and more. Unity is also participating with other OA members in activities outside of Overeaters Anonymous (OA), talking to other members in-between meetings, providing support to other members, and more.

Service in Overeaters Anonymous (OA) begins early in recovery, with new members helping set-up chairs, make coffee, greet other members, and clean up after meetings. As new members get more recovery time, they begin taking on service positions with more responsibility. This may include being meeting treasurer, meeting secretary, other meeting level service positions, “sponsoring” or mentoring other new members, and bringing meetings and literature into Hospitals & Institutions where food addicts can’t get to outside meetings. This type of General Service begins at the meeting level, carries into the local areas, through the “district” level, all the way to national including the World Service Business Conference.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Tools

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) uses a variety of tools to help members recover including OA Meetings, OA Literature, OA Sponsor, OA Steps, OA Fellowship, OA Events, and OA Service among others.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Meetings: Overeaters Anonymous (OA) members attend Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Meetings to learn how the OA program works, to gain strength by hearing other OA members experience, strength and hope, to find support through the OA Fellowship, to obtain OA Literature, to get introduced to the OA Steps, to find a suitable OA Sponsor, to find out about OA Events and to get involved in OA Service.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Literature: Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Literature includes Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Books, Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Pamphlets; Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Digital Downloads and Audio Recordings, OA Coins, OA Lifeline back issues, OA group readings and more.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Sponsor: A Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Sponsor is a member of Overeaters Anonymous (OA) who has made some progress in the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) recovery program, has taken or is taking the steps of Overeaters Anonymous (OA), and would like to help another OA member navigate the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) steps, learn more about the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) fellowship and the Overeaters Anonymous (OA) program.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Fellowship – The Fellowship of Overeaters Anonymous (OA) is just as important as recovery or service. The fellowship is about being part of the community, which is vital for many of us after being isolated and alone for so long. Fellowship is about connecting with each other, holding each other up, and holding each other accountable.

The fellowship benefits our psychological, spiritual, and bodily health. It brings us a reason for living once again, oftentimes after years of being purposeless. Fellowship helps to boost our self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence, while reducing our anxiety and increasing our level of contentment.

Fellowship includes attending OA meetings, going out with people after the meetings, attending OA retreats, OA conferences, OA roundups, OA speaker meetings, OA parties, and a variety of other OA activities including athletics, music, art and other OA events.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Events: Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Events include OA speaker meetings, OA workshops, OA retreats, OA conferences, OA roundups, OA cruises, OA vacations and other OA events.

Overeaters Anonymous (OA) Service: As mentioned above, service in Overeaters Anonymous (OA) begins early in recovery and includes OA General Service, Meeting Level Service, District and Region Level Service. Members follow the guidelines outlined by both the Regional Service Offices and Intergroups. There are also local Overeaters Anonymous service meetings that members attend to get information on OA service.