Get Acquainted with the first three steps of recovery!

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The Houston OA-HOW newcomer questions are designed to acquaint the newcomer with the first three steps of recovery. The reading assignments are taken from the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book and the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The goal is to familiarize individuals with the Twelve Step recovery process as it relates to problems with food (compulsive overeating, bulimia, anorexia, or other eating disorders), and to help individuals begin to apply the recovery process to themselves.

(References to the AA Big Book will include citations to page numbers of 3rd and 4th editions in that order)

  1. Write a history of your problems with food beginning with the first time you can remember food related events. If weight is an issue, discuss how much weight you have gained and/or lost, what medical attention you have sought for the problem and your attempts at control your problems with food.
  2. Read the doctor’s opinion in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (pages xxiii-xxx; xxv- xxxii). Write on how you have experienced the physical allergy/craving for food and the mental obsession for food. How does this set you apart from normal eaters?
  3. Read Chapter 2 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (There is a Solution). After reading “There Is A Solution”, write on how you have lost the power of choice over food.
  4. Read Chapter 3 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (“More About Alcoholism”).
  5. After reading “More About Alcoholism”, write on the following ideas from the chapter as they relate to your personal experiences:
    • The belief that after losing the weight or being free of bingeing / purging / starving for a period of time, you can resume your compulsive overeating patterns without your eating problems reoccurring.
    • The mental insanity that precedes the first compulsive bite.
    • The ability to control your eating using self-knowledge.
  6. Read Step 1 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Is lack of power over food your problem, why or why not? Do you truly see yourself as a having a compulsion with food, why or why not?
  7. Read Chapter 4 (We Agnostics) in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book.
  8. After reading “We Agnostics” , discuss the following ideas from the chapter as they relate to your personal experiences:
    • To be doomed to a death caused by an eating disorder or live on a spiritual basis are not easy alternatives to face.
    • Your own concept of a Higher Power is sufficient to work the Twelve Steps and recover from your eating disorder.
  9. Read Step 2 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Write on using the substitution method of accepting the presence of a Higher Power.
  10. On a two column balance sheet list on one side your negative feelings and on the other side your positive feelings as they relate to your religious experiences. What conclusion do you reach when you reflect on the balance sheet?
Negative feelings re: religious experiencesPositive feelings re: religious experiences
  
  
  1. Create another balance sheet. On one side list all the reasons you can for believing in God. On the other side list all the reasons for disbelieving. What conclusion do you reach when you reflect on the balance sheet?
Reasons for believing in GodReasons not to believe in God
  
  
  1. After examining the balance sheets from question 10 and question 11, write on where you are in the process of coming to believe a High Power can restore you to sanity and remove your food obsession.
  2. Read Chapter 5 in the Big Book (How It Works).
  3. After reading “How It Works”, write on the following ideas from the chapter as they relate to your personal experiences:
    • Selfishness – self-centeredness is at the root of your troubles. Do you agree or disagree with this idea and why?
    • To take step 3 you have to quit playing God and let a Higher Power be your director. Do you agree or disagree with this idea and why?
  1. Read Step 3 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. The key to practicing is willingness. In what areas of your life are you willing to practice Step 3 and why? In what areas of your life are you unwilling to practice Step 3 and why?
  2. Step 3 in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions indicates that the misuse of willpower is our trouble, because we try to bombard our problems with it instead of trying to bring our will into agreement with our Higher Power’s intention for us. How have you used your willpower properly? – How have you misused your willpower? What is your Higher Power’s intention for you and your life?
  3. Read pages 569-570; 567-568 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (Spiritual Experience). Based on your personal experiences, write on how your awareness of a Higher Power has changed over time.
  4. Read the promises that come from practicing the Twelve Steps (Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book page 83-84; start at “If we are painstaking about this…” and stop at “This thought brings us to Step 10”). Do you see these promises happening in the lives of others recovering in OA-HOW when they share at meetings? Do you think these promises can happen in your life; why or why not?
  5. Practicing the Twelve Steps changes a person’s relationship with food (read in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book page 84-85; start at “And we have ceased fighting …” and stop at “It is easy to let up…”). Do you see this happening in the lives of others recovering in OA-HOW when they share at meetings? – Do you think this can happen to you; why or why not?
  6. Read Chapter 11 in the Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book (A Vision For You).
  7. After reading “A Vision For You”, write on how the fellowship of others recovering in OA-HOW (developed through attending meetings, making telephone calls, and sponsorship) helps your recovery.
  8. Read Tradition Twelve in the Alcoholics Anonymous Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Anonymity is the spiritual principle that protects the confidentiality of individual OA-HOW members. How does anonymity help you recover from problems with food? How does anonymity protect the OA-HOW fellowship as a whole?
  9. The OA-HOW program emphasizes cultivating an attitude of gratitude. What are you grateful for today and why? What are you not grateful for and why?
  10. Write on the idea that abstinence is the most important thing in your life without exception. Do you agree or disagree with this idea and why?
  11. Write on how H.A.L.T. applies to your life; do not allow yourself to get too Hungry, too Angry, too Lonely, or too Tired.
  12. A structured food plan is an important tool of the OA-HOW program. For you, what are the advantages and disadvantages of using a food plan?
  13. Having a sponsor, making telephone calls, attending meetings, and giving service are tools of the OA-HOW program. How do these tools help your recovery?
  14. Reading and writing are tools of the OA-HOW program. Now that you have almost completed the newcomer reading and writing assignments, how is reading and writing helping your recovery?
  15. HOW in OA-HOW stands for the principles of honesty, open-mindedness and willingness. How do these principles help your recovery?
  16. Read the article entitled “The Act of Surrendering to the Therapeutic Process” by Dr. Harry Tiebout, M.D. Write on the idea that submission is not the same as surrender and discuss the difference. How is participating in the OA-HOW program helping your own personal surrender?