Use of mnemonic acronyms in program

  

The image shows a mnemonic acronym that I learned from other fellows in the OA program. The text is:

• B— binge
• I —  I’m
• N — not
• G —good 
• E —enough 

The idea is that negative self talk is a character defect that can result in overeating. 

There are several problems with this image:

1. Mnemonic acronyms can’t be readily translated into other languages 
2. OA world service doesn’t want us to use acronyms in general.
3. Images don’t translate automatically on our website, so we prefer text.

Still, I find that this sort of acronym is very useful for people.

I have been in text meetings online, where they used acronyms, such as COE for compulsive overeater. That sort of acronym is very useful for saving time, but confusing for newcomers. In fact, that meeting had a whole glossary of acronyms that attenders were supposed to learn in order to attend the meeting. I can understand why world service felt that these acronyms were confusing for people, and therefore should be avoided.

Nevertheless, I find that mnemonic acronyms can be very useful. My first sponsor loved acronyms and slogans. Many slogans also have puns or wordplay in them that don’t translate well.

Even though world service doesn’t like acronyms, I feel that it would be nice to make some use of this type of mnemonic acronym. It might be fun to challenge the international community to see if they could come up with something similar in their own language.