Community Resources

This page lists resources recommended by Secular Overeaters Community members. If you have a resource to share, send a description to secularovereaters@gmail.com to include on this page and in our monthly newsletter. 

Books

Please see the Book Recommendations page.

Podcasts

Please see the Podcasts and Recordings page.

Websites

AA Agnostica is meant to be a helping hand for the alcoholic who reaches out to Alcoholics Anonymous for help and finds that she or he is disturbed by the religious content of many AA meetings. The site may also be helpful to those seeking relief from other addictions.
 
Beyond Belief Sobriety is a podcast that explores topics of interest to people who are seeking or who have found a secular path to recovery from addictions of all kinds
 
Greater Good is UC Berkeley’s center for positive psychology. They email articles with a variety of tips for dealing with life based on current research, at no charge. – Recommended by Kevin.
 
Proactive Twelve Steps: A Mindful Program for Lasting Change 
An approach to recovery that seeks to describe the Twelve Steps in a down-to-earth way that shows how they promote healing. 

 

Articles/Documents

Alternative 12 Step Discussion Guide for Secular Overeaters, Version 2 (2024, includes a different set of Step insights than the 2022 version)

Alternate 12 Step Discussion Guide for Secular Overeaters, Version 1 (2022)
These Guides were created to support the Secular Overeater Alternative 12 Step Discussion meeting, which meets on the third Sunday of the month (see our calendar). But even if you don’t attend those meetings, you are likely to find this collection and interpretations of alternative versions of each Step interesting and useful.
 
A technical article on the science of food addiction.
 
A psychiatrist’s explanation of how addictions form in the brain.
 
This Lifeline article, from 2017, is by an OA member who has maintained a 95-pound weight loss for 20 years. They wrote this for atheists and agnostics who feel they don’t belong in OA.
 
A Lifeline article about a practical idea to help recovery—changing one’s world view from a “me” focus to a “we” focus.
 
A Lifeline article about the life we can find with recovery.
 
A Lifeline article about a woman realizing what amends to oneself means.
 
A Lifeline article about the importance of using the steps regularly, even when things are going well.
 
 
 
Miscellaneous
 
Please see the Community Developed Resources page for free resources developed by our own talented members.
 
The popular handout, AA Agnostica: A Collection of Alternative 12 Steps, has been translated for Spanish speakers by fellow Elizabeth B. 
 
Many of us aren’t always sure about what we are feeling. This handy wheel can help pinpoint exactly what’s going on (and that we’re probably not hungry). It’s useful for step work like Steps 4 or 10. Print a copy and keep it in your journal! 
 
Mom [TV Comedy]
This CBS TV show, which ran from 2013 to 2021, focuses on women in recovery (available on a variety of streaming services). 
 
This free self-guided course was recommended on the Secular Overeaters Facebook group. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is a blend of meditation, body awareness, and mindful movement.
 
"Tradition Ten: The Spiritual Principle Is Neutrality." Collage by Anonymous