12 Step Meeting

On February 13th, I attended and overeaters anonymous meeting. I’ve never been to any type of support or 12 step meeting before, so I was not really sure what to expect. When I first arrived, there were a group of women waiting outside for the meeting to start. Once the meeting started, the person who chaired the meeting began. She started with an introduction of what Overeaters Anonymous was. She then had someone come up and read the 12 steps and 12 traditions. The leader of the meeting went on to share her story of how she used to be almost 300 pounds, and her struggles of trying to lose weight with various diets and weight loss plans. From there she talked about coming to Overeaters Anonymous. She then discussed how she now abstains from sugar and flour and because of that she has lost 70 pounds. She talked about getting support from “the big book” (Alcoholics Anonymous), and her sponsor and her higher power. She was able to be successful. I was a little bit disappointed she didn’t discuss how long she had abstained from flour and sugar or if she had ever had relapses where she ate those items.
During the meeting one of the things that they discussed was the success rate of Overeaters Anonymous: “RARELY HAVE we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are those who cannot or will not give themselves completely to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way.” A.A. Big Book, 3rd & 4th Editions, William G. Wilson, page 58. But according to the Harvard Mental Health Letter, from The Harvard Medical School, stated quite plainly: “On their own There is a high rate of recovery among alcoholics and addicts, treated and untreated. According to one estimate, heroin addicts break the habit in an average of 11 years. Another estimate is that at least 50% of alcoholics eventually

Bibliography: -A.A. Big Book, 3rd & 4th Editions, William G. Wilson, page 58. -Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction — Part III, The Harvard Mental Health Letter, Volume 12, Number 4, October 1995, page 3.