SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Popcorn beckons to one prominent long-time Yellowknife resident each time she passes the Capitol Theatre. A few years ago, the hot buttery aroma would lure her off the sidewalk and pull her in front of the lobby concession counter upstairs.

Members of the Yellowknife chapter of Overeaters Anonymous receive support to control compulsive eating habits. Three times per week the support group is held at Northern United Place for people prone to overeating, restrictive dieting, over-exercising as a way to compensate for eating or any diet that causes a person to feel out of balance. - Walter Strong/NNSL photo illustration

"I would smell the popcorn coming out and I would go up those two flights of stairs just to buy a bag of popcorn. I wasn't even there for the show," she told Yellowknifer, asking to remain anonymous.

"I have even fought with my mother over a bag of popcorn and I think that is pretty weird."

Six years ago she sought support from fellow food addicts at Overeaters Anonymous, whose local members meet at Northern United Place three times a week.

Established in New Mexico in 1960, the organization's Yellowknife chapter first convened in the 1980s and has met consistently since 1992. The group provides a self-help support network for people whose lives have been damaged by problems with over-eating.

Eating problems may range from a diet that leads to obesity to bulimia. Other members over-exercise to compensate for binge eating.

Over-eating is a "disease" that is difficult to self-diagnose because there is a denial aspect to the behaviour, she said.

However, there are a number of tools or strategies one can use to regain control of compulsive eating, beginning with being honest with oneself that there is a problem, she explained.

"I know there are some foods I cannot eat because once I start eating them I can't stop," she said.

Before connecting with Overeaters Anonymous, she confided it was not rare for her to succumb to the urge to eat food from the garbage, food that had fallen on the floor or even food that's frozen solid.

"I think those are signs (of a problem)," she said.

Her strong urge to eat was accompanied by feelings of shame and depression.

"There was one day six or seven years ago when I got up in the morning, I had a big breakfast then a snack in mid-morning and then a lunch. I then had a snack in the afternoon and then I ate a big supper," she said. "That afternoon I was walking around after having been let off work early and I should have been happy. But I was just miserable. I thought that something has to change and I phoned a friend who suggested attending an Overeaters Anonymous meeting and I rolled up my sleeves and got to work."

Overeaters Anonymous offers a place to share strategies for health and wellness, offering programming designed for people struggling with eating. Anywhere from a few people to close to one dozen may participate in any given gathering.

Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, the group strives to keep its membership confidential. Another longtime Yellowknifer who has attended Overeaters Anonymous for about seven years said she attends the meetings because of a drinking problem - not alcohol but an addiction to pop.

"What appealed to me about Overeaters Anonymous was that I didn't find I had to know why I was the way I was," she said. "It was a solution with a 12-step program that said you don't really need to know how you got here. You need to be willing to be honest with yourself and want to stop the problem behaviour."

For anyone ready to tackle a problem with over-eating, Overeaters Anonymous is ready to help, she said.

"It isn't an organization that goes out looking for people to join," she said. "If people look for it they will find it."

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