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loribethrice
loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone done Overeaters Anonymous? Did it help you? I have had a very stressful month and after almost 2 years of this I turned back to my old eating habits and haven't exercised because of the lack of sleep. I am wondering if OA would help me not eat a ton when stressed.

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  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    bump
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Does the OA you have in mind, meet in person?
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    Yes they do. It's a group in a church basement in Pittsburgh that meets on Thursday evenings. I just don't know if it's worth it to go or not.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
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    My MIL had success with OA. A few years back she lost 50lbs. But shes a meeting groupie. She then 'kindly' donated to me all her fat clothes and the OA handbook. :neutral:
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    Laurend224 wrote: »
    My MIL had success with OA. A few years back she lost 50lbs. But shes a meeting groupie. She then 'kindly' donated to me all her fat clothes and the OA handbook. :neutral:

    Well that was a little passive aggressive of her! I'm wondering if people who go can get away with only going to one meeting a week or if it's like AA/NA and you need to go daily. I just need something that will stop me from eating a ton of sweets when I am overly stressed out because I never realized I did that until this past month when everything in my life has been out of control.
  • pollypocket1021
    pollypocket1021 Posts: 533 Member
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    I went to one as part of a psych class in college. In high school, I had an eating disorder and was hospitalized three times. The thing about hospitalization is you are surrounded by people with crazy disordered thinking about food. All they talk about is food and weight.

    The OA meeting I went to was worse. I don't know if every meeting and every group is like this, but the more disordered the thought process or behavior, the better. People who swore they would never again ingest solid foods were held up as examples. People talked about avoiding major family events and functions to avoid the pressure to eat. The kind of things that an ED therapist would call a red flag.

    Other than that, they seemed like a very nice group of women. They seemed supportive of each other, but in a pro-ana online forum kind of way.
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    pollypocket1021 wrote: »
    I went to one as part of a psych class in college. In high school, I had an eating disorder and was hospitalized three times. The thing about hospitalization is you are surrounded by people with crazy disordered thinking about food. All they talk about is food and weight.

    The OA meeting I went to was worse. I don't know if every meeting and every group is like this, but the more disordered the thought process or behavior, the better. People who swore they would never again ingest solid foods were held up as examples. People talked about avoiding major family events and functions to avoid the pressure to eat. The kind of things that an ED therapist would call a red flag.

    Other than that, they seemed like a very nice group of women. They seemed supportive of each other, but in a pro-ana online forum kind of way.

    Yikes...that doesn't sound good! I already have an ED so I guess that might not be my best option. Do you have any other suggestions?
  • runforfunmom80
    runforfunmom80 Posts: 10 Member
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    I'm curious as well.. The OA meetings here are every Sunday ... I plan on attending this Sunday for my first meeting.. nervous and scared as well.. Not sure what to do or say.. I have been struggling with this for most of my life.. relapsed after my ex left me.. Also looking for new friends on here.. and keep me in check Thanks in advance..
  • stacyjh1979
    stacyjh1979 Posts: 188 Member
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    What do you have to lose...pun intended :wink: I am an alcoholic so I attend AA and I firmly believe the 12 steps can help anyone. We all have areas of our life where we feel powerless and that make our lives unmanageable. Having other people that can understand, relate to and support your specific struggle can be a great asset. I get that from the site as well though.
  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
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    loribethrice wrote: »
    Yes they do. It's a group in a church basement in Pittsburgh that meets on Thursday evenings. I just don't know if it's worth it to go or not.

    Why not? What would it hurt?
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    runforfunmom80 wrote: »
    I'm curious as well.. The OA meetings here are every Sunday ... I plan on attending this Sunday for my first meeting.. nervous and scared as well.. Not sure what to do or say.. I have been struggling with this for most of my life.. relapsed after my ex left me.. Also looking for new friends on here.. and keep me in check Thanks in advance..

    I am going to try to go on Thursday to the one here. I'm nervous, but I have been having massive issues lately craving sugar and pizza and I hadn't had that problem in the 2 years prior that I've been doing this. I gained around 4lbs in 5 weeks because I had been giving in to my cravings and binging on entire dozens of thumbprint cookies or eating a large DQ blizzard every other day or eating a pizza and breadsticks a few nights a week or eating cookie sandwiches from the bakery. I feel so ashamed.
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    stacyjh1979 wrote: »
    What do you have to lose...pun intended :wink: I am an alcoholic so I attend AA and I firmly believe the 12 steps can help anyone. We all have areas of our life where we feel powerless and that make our lives unmanageable. Having other people that can understand, relate to and support your specific struggle can be a great asset. I get that from the site as well though.

    If the 12 steps work then I'm all for them! I need some sort of control over my eating since its spiraling the wrong way.
  • loribethrice
    loribethrice Posts: 620 Member
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    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    loribethrice wrote: »
    Yes they do. It's a group in a church basement in Pittsburgh that meets on Thursday evenings. I just don't know if it's worth it to go or not.

    Why not? What would it hurt?

    Someone above said it seems like it was a catalyst for eating disorders and since I already have issues with that I'm a bit worried about making them worse!
  • annienapier2014
    annienapier2014 Posts: 1 Member
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    OA is all about your own journey and having people who have been "there" before -who have dealt with their own issues honestly is what's helpful. If you go, allow yourself to make connections with someone who has the attitude about eating that you find helpful.
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    I think this is the kind of thing where each group culture can vary quite a bit, so if you go be open but also mindful of whether this particular group is a good fit for you. I don't really think the 12 steps have some magic to them, but taking a decisive path and working hard to reach it with the support of others can be good.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    loribethrice wrote: »
    beemerphile1 wrote: »
    loribethrice wrote: »
    Yes they do. It's a group in a church basement in Pittsburgh that meets on Thursday evenings. I just don't know if it's worth it to go or not.

    Why not? What would it hurt?

    Someone above said it seems like it was a catalyst for eating disorders and since I already have issues with that I'm a bit worried about making them worse!

    My sense is that every group could be different - maybe there is a contact person you could talk to beforehand and ask about that kind of thing? I agree that the group described sounds counterproductive but I wonder if they're all like that? There is at least one OA group here on MFP, maybe that would be a good place to ask?

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