Overeaters Anonymous

I want to give a plug to a great free worldwide organization that can help you lose weight, its called Overeaters Anonymous and they can be found at oa.org. They have local chapters in over 25 countries and even have live online groups for those unable to attend an in person meeting.

People with eating disorders have a very hard time in the world. Not only do they get no sympathy but worse than that, they often get bullied and ridiculed. Sometimes people truly cant control their eating. Mental health issues and obesity intertwined. People suffering from depression often become obese. In a perfect world, therapists would be available to work thru these issues but this is not a perfect world. In the American health care system, insurance companies gladly dish out 25k for a gastric bypass surgery but refuse to pay 1k for therapy to get to the root cause of the problem. Eating disorders are a lot more common that most people realize, about 8% of Americans have an eating disorder and for many of these, the disorder results in obesity.

If your insurance does not cover therapy and you can’t afford the $120/hr out of pocket to pay for it yourself, you are in good company. Thats where overeaters anonymous comes in. Its a self help organization loosely based on the very successful model of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. Read what Overeaters Anonymous is about. When it comes to overeating, a good support group is key because often people around you do not get it.

If you have eating disorders, realize that you are not alone. Please consider finding the OA meeting nearest you.