P.O.   BOX 336 Hull MA 02045-0336     781-925-1903

FAQ-Frequently asked questions What is OA? Who Belongs to OA? How do members lose weight? What does OA offer? Why is OA Anonymous? How is OA funded? Is OA a religious organization? Where can I find OA? Are men welcome in OA? What is a meeting like? What are the Twelve Steps? What are the Twelve Traditions? What are the Twelve Concepts of OA Service?   How can I contact the South Coastal Mass Intergroup of OA?

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Our Invitation to You We of Overeaters Anonymous have made a discovery. At the very first meeting we attended, we learned that we were in the clutches of a dangerous illness, and that willpower, emotional health and self-confidence, which some of us had once possessed, were no defense against it. We have found the reasons for the illness are unimportant. What deserves the attention of the still-suffering compulsive eater is this: there is a proven, workable method by which we can arrest our illness. The OA recovery program is patterned after that of Alcoholics Anonymous. We use AA's Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, changing only the words "alcohol" and "alcoholic" to "food" and "compulsive eater". As our personal stories attest, the Twelve Step program of recovery works as well for compulsive eaters as it does for alcoholics. Can we guarantee you this recovery? The answer is simple. If you will honestly face the truth about yourself and the illness; if you will keep coming back to meetings to talk and listen to other recovering compulsive eaters; if you will read our literature and that of Alcoholics Anonymous with an open mind; and, most important, if you are willing to rely on a power greater than yourself for direction in your life, and to take the Twelve Steps to the best of your ability, we believe you can indeed join the ranks of those who recover. To remedy the emotional, physical, and spiritual illness of compulsive eating we offer several suggestions, but keep in mind that the basis of the program is spiritual, as evidenced by the Twelve Steps. We are not a "diet or calories" club. We do not endorse any particular plan of eating. Once we become abstinent, the preoccupation with food diminishes and in many cases leaves us entirely. We then find that, to deal with our inner turmoil, we have to have a new way of thinking, of acting on life rather than reacting to it -- in essence, a new way of living. From this vantage point, we begin the Twelve Step program of recovery, moving beyond the food and the emotional havoc to a fuller living experience. As a result of practicing the Steps, the symptom of compulsive eating is removed on a daily basis, achieved through the process of surrendering to something greater than ourselves; the more total our surrender, the more fully realized our freedom from food obsession.

What is OA? Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive eating. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and to carry this message of recovery to those who still suffer. back to top of page

Who Belongs to OA? In Overeaters Anonymous, you'll find members who are extremely overweight, even morbidly obese; moderately overweight; average weight; underweight; still maintaining periodic control over their eating behavior; or totally unable to control their compulsive eating. OA members experience many different patterns of food behaviors. These "symptoms" are as varied as our membership. Among them are: • obsession with body weight, size and shape eating binges or grazing • preoccupation with reducing diets starving laxative or diuretic abuse • excessive exercise inducing vomiting after eating chewing and spitting out food • use of diet pills, shots and other medical interventions to control weight • inability to stop eating certain foods after taking the first bite • fantasies about food vulnerability to quick-weight-loss schemes • constant preoccupation with food • using food as a reward or comfort Our symptoms may vary, but we share a common bond: we are powerless over food and our lives are unmanageable. This common problem has led those in OA to seek and find a common solution in the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions and eight tools of Overeaters Anonymous.

How do OA members lose weight and maintain their normal weight? The concept of abstinence is the basis of OA's program of recovery. By admitting inability to control compulsive eating in the past and abandoning the idea that all one needs is "a little willpower," it becomes possible to abstain from overeating—one day at a time. While a diet can help us lose weight, it often intensifies the compulsion to overeat. The solution offered by OA does not include diet tips. We don't furnish food plans or diets, counseling services, hospitalization or treatment; nor does OA participate in or conduct research and training in the field of eating disorders. For weight loss, any medically approved eating plan is acceptable. OA members interested in learning about nutrition or who seek professional advice are encouraged to consult qualified professionals. We may freely use such help, with the assurance that OA supports each of us in our efforts to recover.

What does OA offer? We offer unconditional acceptance and support through readily available OA meetings, which are self-supported through voluntary contributions. We in OA believe we have a threefold illness—physical, emotional and spiritual. Tens of thousands have found that OA's Twelve-Step program effects recovery on all three levels. The Twelve Steps embody a set of principles which, when followed, promote inner change. Sponsors help us understand and apply these principles. As old attitudes are discarded, we often find there is no longer a need for excess food. Those of us who choose to recover one day at a time practice the Twelve Steps. In so doing, we achieve a new way of life and lasting freedom from our food obsession. back to top of page

Why is OA anonymous? Anonymity allows the Fellowship to govern itself through principles rather than personalities. Social and economic status have no relevance in OA; we are all compulsive eaters. Anonymity at the level of press, radio, television and other media of communication provides assurance that OA membership will not be disclosed.

How is OA funded? Overeaters Anonymous has no dues or fees for membership. It is entirely self-supporting through literature sales and member contributions. Most groups "pass the basket" at meetings to cover expenses. OA does not solicit or accept outside contributions.

Is OA a religious organization? OA is not a religious society, since it requires no definite religious belief as a condition of membership. OA has among its membership people of many religious faiths as well as atheists and agnostics. The OA recovery program is based on acceptance of certain spiritual values. Members are free to interpret these values as they think best, or not to think about them at all if they so choose. Many individuals who come to OA have reservations about accepting any concept of a power greater than themselves. OA experience has shown that those who keep an open mind on this subject and continue coming to OA meetings will not find it too difficult to work out their own solution to this very personal matter.

Where can I find OA? Go to Meetings page on this Web site and follow the instructions to find a meeting in your area.  Or you can contact the World Service Office at (505) 891-2664 or by e-mailing for further assistance. You can also look for Overeaters Anonymous in your local telephone directory and in your local newspaper's social or community calendar section.

Are Men Welcome in OA?  We have a local Men's Focus group in this area in Braintree on Wednesday and in Chelsea on Saturday.  Please see the listing at Meetings or on the statelist.

What is a meeting like? All meetings are open to all members of Overeaters Anonymous. A member is any person with a desire to stop eating compulsively or anyone who thinks they may have an eating problem. Open meetings welcome the general public, such as students, or media people. Closed meetings may exclude only these nonmembers. Meetings may specify a focus in the listings, e.g., anorexia, women, or scent-free, but OA meetings will not close its doors to anyone who has a desire to stop eating compulsively. back to top of page

Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous: 1. We admitted we were powerless over food and that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. 9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive eaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Traditions 1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity. 2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. 3. The only requirement for OA membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively. 4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OA as a whole. 5. Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to the compulsive eater who still suffers. 6. An OA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the OA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose. 7. Every OA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. 8. Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. 9. OA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve. 10. Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the OA name ought never be drawn into public controversy. 11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television, and other public media of communication. 12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Twelve Concepts of OA Service 1. The ultimate responsibility and authority for OA world services reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship. 2. The OA groups have delegated to the World Service Business Conference the active maintenance of our world services; thus, the World Service Business Conference is the voice, authority and effective conscience of OA as a whole. 3. The right of decision, based on trust, makes effective leadership possible. 4. The right of participation ensures equality of opportunity for all in the decision-making process. 5. Individuals have the right of appeal and petition in order to ensure that their opinions and personal grievances will be carefully considered. 6. The World Service Business Conference has entrusted the Board of Trustees with the primary responsibility for the administration of Overeaters Anonymous. 7. The Board of Trustees has legal rights and responsibilities accorded to them by OA Bylaws, Subpart A; the rights and responsibilities of the World Service Business Conference are accorded to it by Tradition and by OA Bylaws, Subpart B. 8. The Board of Trustees has delegated to its Executive Committee the responsibility to administer the OA World Service Office. 9. Able, trusted servants, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are indispensable for effective functioning at all service levels. 10. Service responsibility is balanced by carefully defined service authority; therefore, duplication of efforts is avoided. 11. Trustee administration of the World Service Office should always be assisted by the best standing committees, executives, staffs and consultants. 12. The spiritual foundation for OA service ensures that: (a) no OA committee or service body shall ever become the seat of perilous wealth or power; (b) sufficient operating funds, plus an ample reserve, shall be OA's prudent financial principle; (c) no OA member shall ever be placed in a position of unqualified authority; (d) all important decisions shall be reached by discussion, vote and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; (e) no service action shall ever be personally punitive or an incitement to public controversy; and (f) no OA service committee or service board shall ever perform acts of government, and each shall always remain democratic in thought and action. For more information about the Twelve Concepts, read the pamphlet The Twelve Concepts of OA Service, available from our online catalog.

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