Combating Pandemic Stress-Eating with Overeaters Anonymous
How can people with eating disorders find the support they need during the pandemic while adjusting to new protocols for grocery shopping, more frequent cooking and keeping refrigerators and pantries stocked to capacity? One readily available resource is Overeaters Anonymous (O.A.), a worldwide fellowship of 54,000 members who are recovering from unhealthy relationships with food and body image. They get relief from quarantine-related stress eating and other unhealthy food behaviors by attending virtual meetings, which replace the in-person O.A. meetings they attended prior to following stay-at-home measures enacted to halt the spread of Covid-19
Some new members are facing an eating disorder for the first time; others are experiencing a resurgence of unsettling food behaviors triggered by spending more time at home. A.H. (initials used to protect anonymity) of Glendale, California, a 49-year-old working mother of two, is one of the newcomers who found herself snacking more frequently during the pandemic, eating until she was uncomfortably full, and unable to maintain a comfortable weight.
“Reaching for food is an easy comfort in a time that is so uncertain and anxiety producing,” A.H. said, but by attending virtual O.A. meetings, she is developing a greater awareness of her eating and the feelings associated with it. Other members welcomed her, she said, and gave her “a sense of connection with people who struggle with a similar issue. It’s changing the way I’m eating and I’m being more loving toward my body.”
In O.A. as in other 12-step programs based on Alcoholics Anonymous, members rely on emotional, physical and spiritual support to recover from addiction, and pay no dues or fees for membership.
The move to online platforms has allowed O.A.’s membership to expand exponentially. In April, Los Angeles hosted a workshop with 1,000 participants from around the world, including people from Virginia, Israel, London, New York and Spain, according to J.M., a 61-year-old member maintaining a 110-pound weight loss for 10 years. J.M. is the chairperson of the L.A. Intergroup, which hosts almost 60 meetings per week. “We had to expand the Zoom capacity as the meeting took place because the numbers kept going up,” he said. “There were still a couple hundred people trying to get in.”
The program’s preamble states, “Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of O.A. to those who still suffer.” The boost in membership via virtual meetings fulfills that goal. “Overall meeting attendance has gone up meteorically,” J.M. said. “Meetings that used to get 25 now get 75.”
Newcomer A.H. confirmed that the ease of the Zoom format made O.A. accessible for her because she already juggles parenting and a full-time job. “Driving to a meeting would have been too much for me and I probably wouldn’t have done it.” she said.
Dr. Jody Yeary is a San Francisco based therapist who has worked with clients recovering from addiction for 40 years. She outlined the substantial challenge faced by those seeking recovery from food addiction. “Food is different from alcohol or other drugs in that members must eat. It’s complicated.”
She quoted an old saying, “When you are addicted to alcohol and other drugs you put the tiger in the cage and leave it there. When you are addicted to food, you put the tiger in the cage but take it out three times a day for a walk.”
Yeary affirms O.A. can be beneficial to many, especially during the pandemic. “One of the greatest stressors is isolation, which is a component of all addictions,” she said. O.A. is “an easy way to get community support without leaving home.”
Among the newer members receiving that support is a man who weighed more than 650 pounds and has lost over 100 pounds since he joined O.A. six months ago, J.M. said. J.M. sponsors this man (sponsorship involves one member guiding another through the 12-step program of recovery). The two men met as a result of the transition to virtual meetings, since they live in separate parts of the country.
Although O.A. is not the only solution for those suffering from eating disorders, not everyone has access to other options, such as nutritional counseling, commercial weight loss programs, therapy, or treatment centers. “Grassroots, community-based organizations are really critical to supporting individuals,” said Dr. Cary Kreutzer, a University of Southern California Associate Professor and Program Director with the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Keck School of Medicine. “There are individuals that don’t have health insurance that covers therapy with a psychologist or a psychiatrist; and doing the O.A. program may be all they can get to right now.”
Kreutzer is also a registered dietician and co-directs an intervention program at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles addressing childhood obesity for patients with life-threatening, related illnesses like type 2 diabetes and liver disease. As with O.A.’s increased membership since moving online, her program has had more people join through a virtual platform. Part of the increase could be the removal of barriers caused by transportation concerns, she said, but she also attributes the change to the additional layer of anonymity that comes from participating by distance.
“Having worked as a dietician with people who are overweight or obese,” Kreutzer said, “there is a fair amount of shame that is felt and experienced for those individuals,” for whom going to a physical place may be too much to take on. “Online is almost a middle ground of trying it out without fully investing.”
While there are gains that have come from a virtual environment, some positive elements have been lost, J.M. said. “We miss out on the friendships and bonds that happen in person” through going out for coffee after meetings or catching up with one another before a meeting starts.
Even without the camaraderie that builds from meeting in person, members still receive the support they need, according to K.R., a 29-year-old member from Virginia. Before joining O.A. she tried Weight Watchers multiple times and engaged in what she refers to as “obsessive/unhealthy exercise behaviors.” Since joining O.A. she has been free from bulimia for more than 5 years.
“I haven’t thought about purging in so long,” she said, “but I don’t believe I’ll ever be 100% cured of my eating disorder.” Therefore, she continues to attend meetings. “If you’re stuck at home with all this food at this really stressful time, it’s a perfect environment for your bulimia to thrive.”
K.R. said she couldn’t work from home for even a single day before joining O.A., though her job allowed it. During the four months she has followed stay-at-home orders while attending virtual O.A. meetings, she has worked from home, free of the need to overeat or purge.
“O.A. is really giving me a deeper sense of purpose when I think I’m not doing enough and there’s so much hurt in the world,” K.R. said of the support the group provides her during the pandemic. “I can log on to a meeting and be reminded of this bigger mission I’m a part of, to help other people find and maintain recovery.”
