The Twelve Steps

We admitted we were powerless over our obsessions and compulsions-that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to those who still suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

*A.A.'s Twelve Steps adapted with permission of A.A. World Services Inc.

The Twelve Traditions

Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OCA unity.
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
The only requirement for OCA membership is a desire to recover from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OCA as a whole.
Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to those who still suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
An OCA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the OCA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
Every OCA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
OCA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous has no opinion on out side issues; hence the OCA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

*A.A.'s Twelve Traditions adapted with permission of A.A. World Services Inc.

Page last updated 08.09.26

The Twelve Steps

We admitted we were powerless over our obsessions and compulsions-that our lives had become unmanageable.

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to those who still suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The Twelve Traditions

Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OCA unity.

For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority - a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

The only requirement for OCA membership is a desire to recover from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OCA as a whole.

Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry its message to those who still suffer from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

An OCA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the OCA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

Every OCA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

OCA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

Obsessive Compulsive Anonymous has no opinion on out side issues; hence the OCA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.