For Enneagram Type 5, working Step One in Overeaters Anonymous means recognizing how their need for knowledge, privacy, and independence has influenced their relationship with food. Type 5s may use food as a way to retreat, conserve energy, or avoid emotional involvement.

1. Admit Powerlessness Over Using Food to Create Distance or Conserve Energy:

Type 5s often retreat into their inner world, and food may become a tool for creating distance from others or preserving their emotional or mental energy. Admitting powerlessness means recognizing that food is no longer a helpful coping mechanism for managing these boundaries.

• Reflection question: “How have I used food to avoid emotional involvement or to protect my energy when I’m feeling overwhelmed?”

2. Recognize the Unmanageability of Isolation and Withdrawal:

Type 5s tend to withdraw from others when overwhelmed, and this isolation can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. They must admit that their tendency to isolate has made their life and eating habits unmanageable.

• Reflection question: “How has my need for privacy and emotional distance contributed to an unmanageable relationship with food?”

3. Acknowledge the Need for Emotional Engagement:

Step One for Type 5s is about recognizing that food cannot be a substitute for human connection or emotional engagement. Admitting powerlessness means being willing to step outside of isolation and seek support.

• Reflection question: “What would it feel like to engage emotionally with others and seek support for my food-related struggles?”

4. Surrender the Fear of Depletion or Invasion:

Type 5s fear that their emotional or mental resources will be depleted, and food may have been used as a way to maintain control. Surrendering this fear means recognizing that they cannot manage life or food alone.

• Reflection question: “How have I used food to protect myself from feeling overwhelmed or invaded, and how can I surrender that fear?”

5. Trust in the OA Process and the Power of Connection:

For Type 5s, Step One involves trusting that connection and emotional engagement will not deplete them, but will actually support their healing. They must trust that the OA process can help them balance their need for privacy with the need for support.

• Reflection question: “How can I trust that engaging with others and with OA will help me heal, rather than draining my energy?”

Summary: Type 5s work Step One by recognizing how their need for emotional distance and self-sufficiency has led to an unmanageable relationship with food. By admitting powerlessness and trusting in emotional engagement, they can find balance and healing in OA.