What is Narcotics Anonymous? Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is best and self-described as, “a nonprofit fellowship or society of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean.” Often held in church basements and public buildings, NA is a non-religious, yet spiritual group of people supporting each other on the journey that is addiction.
The idea behind NA is to develop a peer-support system to stay clean and sober. Through a 12-step process, individuals learn acceptance, surrender, and support.
NA meetings are offered throughout the community, but are also available in treatment centers. If you feel like you need more support, but like the idea of NA meetings, try our alcohol and drug addiction treatment center, Findlay Recovery Center.
What Happens at a NA Meeting?
NA meetings are either discussion or speaker meetings. Current members share their experiences and talk about the impact that drug addiction has had on their lives. While they don’t share details or specifics about their use, those in recovery speak about the outcomes of their poor decision-making and how they’ve worked to change their lives in sobriety.
In NA meetings, the focus is on the speaker and learning from them, and connecting with their story. It’s through the connections built during breaks or conversations before and after meetings that the development of a support system can occur.
NA meetings are anonymous, so people are only introduced by their first name, and the conversations that are heard and the stories shared at NA meetings, stay at NA meetings. They are shared to support recovery, not to tell others.
How Does NA Help Promote Long-Term Recovery?
NA meetings promote long-term recovery based on a peer support system. Individuals who try to get clean on their own have a 50%-80% chance of relapse compared to those who seek treatment or help.
Through sponsorship, individuals can work one-to-one with another person further along in the recovery process. Sponsors are someone that a person new to recovery can draw strength from and confide in. Sponsorship works because the relationship is non-judgmental and non-evaluative. Unlike parents, doctors, therapists, priests, and friends, sponsors are familiar with the struggles of substance use, familiar with the NA steps, and will provide honest feedback.
NA also promotes long-term recovery through its program. From the first step of accepting the wrongs you’ve done to the last of sharing your story to help others, NA gives individuals an opportunity for individuals to learn to trust themselves and the process. Acceptance, surrender, and support are valuable life skills applicable in many settings.
What Is the First Step?
What is Narcotics Anonymous and what is the first step? The first step to recovery is choosing to make a change. Finding an NA meeting in your area is easy with NA.org. By finding a meeting and attending the meeting, you’ve already made the first step on your personal journey to recovery.
When you arrive at NA, you won’t be asked to share right away, but you will have an opportunity to learn the 12-step program’s steps for recovery. The first step is, “We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction; that our lives had become unmanageable.” You are on your way to achieving this step by attending NA. By coming to NA, you have realized there is something in your life that needs to change.
Get Help for Drug Addiction at Findlay Recovery Center
Findlay Recovery Center, located in Findlay, Ohio, is an alcohol and drug addiction treatment center that offers medically-supervised detox, inpatient care, outpatient care, and aftercare.
With same-day admission possible, Findlay Recovery Center focuses on creating tailor-made treatment programs for our clients. Our experienced clinicians and staff will support you through the recovery process with evidence-based therapies like the AA/NA 12-step program, cognitive behavioral therapy, and family systems.
By supporting our clients through abuse, addiction, codependency, dual diagnosis, grief, trauma, and many more issues, we hope to empower our clients and inspire holistic healing for a lifetime of sobriety.
