Commitment and love are powerful experiences on their own, but when the two are combined something remarkable happens. This was not an overnight matter as many of us struggled for years with unbearable internal pressure. Our perfectionism led to distorted ideas as to what love and commitment were about. We could not live with these impossible standards and so we found a way out. Commitments then became painful reminders and we sought to escape them. Many of us doubted our
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Here are guidelines for being the chairperson of an ABA meeting including who can chair, how to prepare, and how to choose a “sober member” to tell their story if needed. Some of the suggestions are for online meetings however most suggestions apply to face-to-face meetings also. Chairing a meeting is a good way to do service.
This document is intended to help people begin to use the ABA virtual meetings. Many people live in places where there are no in-person ABA meetings. Others may not have the ability to travel to in-person meetings. Our virtual meetings are an important means of outreach to these and all anorexics and bulimics who could benefit from our message of hope.
There seems to be a good deal of misunderstanding about what the term “copyright” means, and about what constitutes copyright infringement. In an attempt to eliminate this confusion, as well as to guide ABA members and Groups, the GSA offers the following information from Intellectual Property Law, which regulates the issues surrounding copyright:
This is an open meeting of Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous. We welcome all of you, and particularly any newcomers. In keeping with our primary purpose and our Third Tradition, which states that “the only requirement for A.B.A. membership is a desire to stop unhealthy eating practices,” we request all who participate to limit their sharing to problems related to their eating disorder.
The future of Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous depends upon maintaining our unity through the lively operation of a service structure that allows the collective voice of ABA members worldwide to guide and direct our principal service board, the General Service
Association of ABA. In practical terms, this requires the election of General Service Representatives by all active ABA Groups and their participation in regular international meetings of these Representatives.
Meal-support is a vital component of ABA recovery. In our experience, in order to recover from this life-threatening illness, the ABA member needs to surrender all control over food, exercise, weight, and body shape to a Higher Power, who is working through
other human beings. In the beginning, meals and snacks need to be planned, prepared, and portioned out by someone other than the member herself (or himself).
I am a family physician who for more than two decades has worked with people suffering from eating disorders. In this work I have had the great advantage of being a recovered anorexic myself. I was fortunate not to die from this disease, which has claimed the lives of others whose clinical pictures resembled my own. Instead I have recovered, and the story of my personal healing journey is detailed in Chapter 2.
Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous is an anonymous Fellowship of individuals whose primary purpose is to find and maintain “sobriety” in our eating practices and to help others find recovery. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop unhealthy eating practices. There are no dues or fees for ABA membership; we are self supporting through our own contributions. ABA is not allied or affiliated with any other 12-Step Fellowship or outside organization.
Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous is a 12-Step Fellowship and Program of recovery for people with eating disorders. ABA groups began meeting all over the world. At ABA, we support one another to recover from eating disorders. Each member shares out of her or his personal experience, strength, and hope.
ABA is a 12-Step Fellowship that originated in 1993 among a group of people who identified themselves
as anorexics and bulimics, and who had been unable to find elsewhere all that they needed for recovery
from their eating disorder.
As they worked together at supporting one another, they discovered the solution for their disease: the foundational concept of “sobriety” that is still used in ABA today, followed by the vigorous action of the12-Step Program.
This pamphlet explains the structure behind ABA meetings, groups, and Home Groups. It outlines how meetings are formed, what service roles look like, and how belonging to a Home Group supports accountability, connection, and long-term recovery.
This pamphlet is written for those who struggle with compulsive eating and wonder whether ABA is for them. It explores the deeper obsession with food and body image, explains how ABA understands all eating disorders as connected, and offers reflective questions to help you decide if recovery here might be right for you.
This introductory pamphlet explains what Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous is, how it understands eating disorders, and who it’s for. It also includes a brief self-assessment to help you reflect on your own experience and consider whether ABA may be a place to begin recovery.
Service helps keep us sober and ABA needs you! What you would need to do: Attend your home group’s business meeting once/month and attend the 60-minute GSR Business meeting once every other month, then bring concerns from your home group to the GSR business meeting and bring information from the GSR business meeting back to your home group. Why this is important: As a General Service Representative or G.S.R., you are linking your home group with the whole of ABA. You help mak
Commitment and love are powerful experiences on their own, but when the two are combined something remarkable happens. This was not an overnight matter as many of us struggled for years with unbearable internal pressure. Our perfectionism led to distorted ideas as to what love and commitment were about. We could not live with these impossible standards and so we found a way out. Commitments then became painful reminders and we sought to escape them. Many of us doubted our
