The
SoberRecovery Glossary of Recovery Terms
Narcotics
Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous, also known as NA, grew out of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Where AA limits its program to dealing with alcohol,
NA members work with any substance abuse problem.
The NA program uses the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, substituting
the word addiction for the word, alcohol. The NA program is spelled
out in their basic text, Narcotics Anonymous, often referred to
as the NA Big Book.
NA meetings or groups are found almost 100 countries. They range
in size from a few people, to as many as 100 or more. Most groups
meet once a week. Meeting styles include: speaker meetings where
one or two members share the story of their addiction and recovery
from a podium; discussion meetings where members share their experience
with a particular topic, and step studies where members discuss
their experience working with the 12 Steps. There are also Big
Book studies and meetings for special interest groups like women
only, men only, gay and lesbian only, etc. All meetings are based,
one-way or another, on the sharing of members experience, strength
and hope.
Membership in NA is informal. A person becomes a member when
they decide they want to stop using drugs and begin attending
meetings. There is no registration; no attendance is taken, although
the group’s secretary may note the number of people in the
room. The commitment to anonymity is taken seriously and people
can attend NA meetings with little fear that others, outside the
meetings, will find out they have joined.
NA meetings can be found in various ways. There are meeting lists
on the web. In the United States, Narcotics Anonymous can be found
in the white pages of most telephone books; a call to information
will also usually result in a phone number where meetings can
be located. Meetings in most western countries, and some non-western
countries can be found in similar ways.
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