[modkittn]

I was thinking of going to an OA meeting. So I went to their website and read up about them. Then I found out that religion is involved. I'm not religious in any way. I would never be able to complete the twelve steps as listed because of my non-beliefs. So my question is - has anyone gone to OA with the same background as me and still gotten help from the meetings (while not feeling like an outcast)?

[Fat Chick B Gone]

Hey MK,
I've thought about going also but have the same reservations as you do. I think they have a question # you can call. Maybe that would give you some more information as to how to handle this?

~heather

[KylieH]

I believe OA's is similar to AA's in that the concept of the "higher power" doesn't necessarily mean God in the Christian sense. You're higher power could be anything.

While I decided not to pursue OA, I wouldn't let that aspect stop you from attending. You might be able to find other aspects of the program helpful.

Good luck.

[jitterfish]

Not to put you off but I had a friend that did OA who was also non-religious. She felt over-whelmed by it all because for one going to a meeting is a big deal, the addition of the so called open spirituality was too much. She said they made her feel really guilty about eating. She went to a couple meetings all up, she had a great sponsor but her last meeting saw her going and binging and the guilt she felt from everything they had said plus she said she felt awful because now she had not just her own guilt but the whole letting down her sponsor...

i'm sure for lots of people it is wonderful (it must be because it is successful), but if you don't have a belief in a higher power I can see how it would be hard to become a member.

[patd]

Good morning. You do not have to believe in God in order to be a member of OA. The only requirement is to want to stop eating complusively.

Yes, they ask you to believe in something greater than yourself, but your Higher Power can be anything. You will hear people say "My HP who I choose to call God" That's their choice it doesn't have to be yours.

I hope you will attend several meetings before you make a choice of whether it is for you or not.

hugs
patd

[modkittn]

Just wanted to update all of you. I am a WW lifetime member, and I had stopped going to meetings. I gained back 10 pounds of what I had lost and feel miserable. I was sort of scared to go back to the WW meetings, so I was looking into OA. I thought that if I went to OA, maybe that would help also with an ED I had a long time ago that lingers (as they never truly disappear 100%).

I was talking with DH the other day, and he thinks I should suck it up and go back to WW. I knew the people there, I liked it. And when I followed the plan, it kept the ED at bay for long periods of time. So thats what I'm going to do. If I'm still having problems after going back to the WW meetings, I will start looking into OA.

Thanks everyone!

[marny]

In the AA book entitled "Alcoholics Anonymous" (also used in OA) there is a chapter written specifically on this point, and it is titled "To the Agnostic". You may want to read this before attending a meeting.

There is no requirement to believe in a god of any kind. What we learn in 12 step programs is that doing it our way has gotten us to where we are-- and if we're looking for help, then we probably don't like where we are. So, instead of continuing down the road of destruction of our own making, we are invited to find a higher power-- something greater than ourselves to give us direction. We can call this power anything that we like. We can envision it as anything that we like. We don't have to share this power with anyone, agree on it with anyone, nor explain it to anyone.

Often, newcomers such as yourself are very reluctant to this one part of the program. You aren't alone.

No one can guarantee how you will "feel" at a meeting. Sometimes people feel like an outcast the first time they go anywhere because it's something new.

I can only speak from my experience. In OA/AA I have met folks who are Buddhist, religious science, one god/many paths, atheist, agnostic, call their god various names I've never heard of, and yes Christian. None of it matters to anyone else. In program we learn to work on ourselves not on other people.

You'll get out of it what you put into it, and you'll get a lot more with an open mind.

[blackcat99]

There is an atheist member at my OA meetings who has lost over 200 pounds with OA.