Can NA Help me?
"Our message is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Our message is hope and the promise of freedom."
Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous
Who can become an NA member?
Anyone who wants to stop using drugs may become a member of Narcotics Anonymous.
Membership is not limited to addicts using any particular drug.
Those who feel they may have a problem with drugs, legal or illegal, including alcohol, are welcome in NA.
Recovery in NA focuses on the problem of addiction, not on any particular drugs.
NA Meetings
NA’s primary approach to recovery is its belief in the therapeutic value of one addict helping another.
The basic premise of anonymity allows addicts to attend meetings without fear of legal or social repercussions.
Members take part in NA meetings by talking about their experiences and recovery from drug addiction.
NA meetings are informally structured, held in space rented by the group, and are led by members who take turns opening and closing the meeting.
NA meetings and other NA services are funded entirely by voluntary member contributions and the sale of NA recovery literature. Financial contributions from non-members are not accepted.
There are no fees or dues in NA.
There are no waiting lists – you don’t need to make an appointment, just show up.
How does NA work?
Addicts helping each other recover are the foundation of NA.
Members meet regularly to talk about their experiences in recovery.
More experienced members (known as sponsors) work individually with newer members.
The core of the NA program is the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. These “steps” and “traditions” are a set of guidelines outlining a practical approach to recovery.
By following these guidelines and working closely with other members, addicts learn to stop using drugs, and face the challenges of daily living.
Narcotics Anonymous is not a religious organisation, and does not mandate any particular belief system.
It does teach basic spiritual principles such as honesty, open-mindedness, faith, willingness and humility, that may be applied in everyday life.
The specific practical application of spiritual principles is determined by each individual.
Recovery in NA is not a miracle cure that happens within a given period of time. It is a process, ongoing and personal.
Members make an individual decision to join and recover at their own pace.
Am I an addict?
Only you can answer this question.
Perhaps you admit you have a problem with drugs, but you don’t consider yourself an addict.
All of us have preconceived ideas about what an addict is. There is nothing shameful about being an addict once you begin to take positive action.
If you can identify with our problems, you may be able to identify with our solution. The following questions were written by recovering addicts in Narcotics Anonymous. If you have doubts about whether or not you’re an addict, take a few minutes to read the questions below and answer them as honestly as you can.
- Do you ever use alone?
- Have you ever substituted one drug for another, thinking that one particular drug was the problem?
- Have you ever manipulated or lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs?
- Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs?
- Do you regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed?
- Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another?
- Do you avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs?
- Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you?
- Has your job or school performance ever suffered from the effects of your drug use?
- Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs?
- Have you ever lied about what or how much you use?
- Do you put the purchase of drugs ahead of your financial responsibilities?
- Have you ever tried to stop or control your using?
- Have you ever been in a jail, hospital, or drug rehabilitation centre because of your using?
- Does using interfere with your sleeping or eating?
- Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you?
- Do you feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs?
- Do you ever question your own sanity?
- Is your drug use making life at home unhappy?
- Have you ever thought you couldn’t fit in or have a good time without drugs?
- Have you ever felt defensive, guilty, or ashamed about your using?
- Do you think a lot about drugs?
- Have you had irrational or indefinable fears?
- Has using affected your sexual relationships?
- Have you ever taken drugs you didn’t prefer?
- Have you ever used drugs because of emotional pain or stress?
- Have you ever overdosed on any drugs?
- Do you continue to use despite negative consequences?
- Do you think you might have a drug problem?
We have found that we all answered different numbers of these questions “Yes”.
The actual number of “Yes” responses wasn’t as important as how we felt inside and how addiction had affected our lives.
Some of these questions don’t even mention drugs. This is because addiction affects all areas of our lives.
The different drugs we used were not as important as why we used them and what they did to us.
As addicts, we believe that we must first admit that we have a problem with drugs before any progress can be made.
These questions, when honestly approached, may help to show how using drugs has made our lives unmanageable.
Many of us came to Narcotics Anonymous because drugs had stopped doing what we needed them to do.
Addiction takes our pride, self-esteem, family, loved ones, and even our desire to live.
If you have not reached this point in your addiction, you don’t have to.
We have found that our own private hell was within us.
If you want help, you can find it in the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous.
“We found that by putting recovery first, the program works. We faced three disturbing realisations:
- We are powerless over addiction and our lives are unmanagable
- Although we are not responsible for our disease, we are responsible for our recovery
- We can no longer blame people, places and things for our addiction. We must face our problems and our feelings.
The ultimate weapon for recovery is the recovering addict.”