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
Stay connected with ABA each month.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter to receive updates, reflections, and helpful resources delivered to your inbox. Each time a new issue is published, you’ll receive a simple email letting you know it’s available, making it easy to stay connected to what’s happening in the ABA community at your own pace.
We, the Board, wanted to reach out to the Fellowship to talk about the purpose of General Service Representatives (GSRs) and why they are so important. First, GSRs provide an essential service to the meetings and groups of ABA.
The General Service Association (GSA) of ABA is a non-profit society incorporated under the Societies Act of the Province of Alberta in 2003. It consists of a Board of Directors elected for a two-year term by ABA members at the Annual General Meeting in March. The Board includes between seven and twenty Directors, roughly half of whom are ABA members. Ideally, the other half are people from outside ABA, some of whom have experience in other 12-Step Fellowships.
You are reading this letter because someone who knows you felt moved to ask you to consider participating in a special service opportunity: service on the Board of Directors (General Service Association) for Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous (ABA). Perhaps you belong to a 12-Step Fellowship, perhaps you are aware of someone ho has benefited from the 12-Steps, or perhaps this is your first introduction to this life-saving program.
Like all 12-Step Fellowships, ABA uses a “we” program, and our unity is our most precious attribute. The message we carry to the anorexic or bulimic who still suffers must be simple and clear to avoid confusing anyone or blurring the unique nature of ABA.
“What do you mean by ‘sobriety’?” “How do you get sober?”
These two questions are probably the ones most commonly asked by newcomers to Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous. Our unique path to recovery is based on our definition of the “drug” to which we are addicted, the concept of “sobriety,” and our common method of achieving sobriety by obtaining meal-support from other people. It is no exaggeration to state that our very existence as a united Fellowship depends upon these t
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.
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.
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.
