Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is a free organization that provides support and guidance to people who want to stop using drugs and recovering addicts. Members follow the 12 steps and 12 traditions, with a strong spiritual element, and are expected to abstain from all mood-altering substances. The effectiveness of 12-step programs varies, and other organizations provide assistance to people who want to end drug addiction.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an organization that provides support and guidance to people who want to stop using drugs and recovering addicts who are not actively using drugs and want to stay clean. The organization is open to all people who feel that drugs have become a problem in their life and membership is free. Narcotics Anonymous chapters can be found in many cities around the world, and in regions where a chapter is not present, people can take steps to start one if they choose.
This organization is part of a family of similar organizations known as 12-step programs. All of these programs are modeled after Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an organization founded in the 1940s. Narcotics Anonymous meetings began to occur informally around 1947, as addicts began working with AA literature to form their own support group, and the first official Narcotics Anonymous group arose in Los Angeles in 1953.
NA members follow the 12 steps and 12 traditions. These steps include acknowledging that the user has a problem, a need to make amends to people who have been harmed, and an obligation to help others who are struggling with substance abuse. 12-step programs have a strong spiritual element, with members acknowledging the existence and influence of a higher power, although people are not expected to adhere to the beliefs of any religious group to be involved in a program in 12 steps. Anonymity is also key, with members identifying each other by name only and keeping meeting content private.
At Narcotics Anonymous, members are expected to abstain from all mood-altering substances, not just the drugs they were struggling with, and support other members in meetings and as sponsors. Sponsors are experienced program members who offer advice, assistance, and support to new members who may be struggling; a new member might, for example, phone their sponsor if the need for drugs arises. Group members have a collection of books and brochures that they can use to guide their practice in 12 steps.
The effectiveness of 12-step programs varies, and some controversy has been raised about them. Some Narcotics Anonymous members find the approach to be extremely helpful and align well with their attitudes, beliefs, and concerns. Others find that grouping doesn’t work well for them, but that doesn’t mean treatment is out of the question. Numerous organizations and groups provide assistance to people who want to end drug addiction, and if Narcotics Anonymous’s approach doesn’t work, another organization’s techniques might.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
