Meetings are held in a variety of places such as church meeting rooms, libraries, hospitals, community centers, parks, or any other place that can accommodate a meeting. Regular meetings, hosted by NA groups, are the basic unit of the NA fellowship. Other symptoms include obsession, compulsion, denial, and self-centeredness. In the NA program, all drugs are considered equal, and alcohol is also a drug. The steps never mention drugs or drug use, rather they refer only to addiction, to indicate that addicts have a disease of which drug use is one symptom. NA suggests that the disease of addiction can be arrested, and recovery is possible through the NA twelve-step program. NA describes addiction as a progressive disease with no known cure, which affects every area of an addict's life: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. NA helps show them a different way of life and helps them fight their disease. But once an addict on his or her own tries to stop and realizes they cannot, they finally see that drugs have been controlling them. Even if other people pointed out they may have a drug problem they were convinced otherwise. The Nature of Addiction Īccording to the philosophy of the NA program, most addicts did not realize they had a problem with drugs until they had no one left. NA groups and areas supply outside organizations with factual information regarding the NA program, and individual members may carry the NA message to hospitals and institutions, such as treatment centers and jails. Individuals can also be compelled to attend by courts or rehab programs. The fellowship does not promote itself, but rather attracts new members through public information and outreach. Narcotics Anonymous uses a slight variation of wording in both the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions when compared to other Twelve Step groups.Īccording to the Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous 'has no opinion on outside issues,' including those of politics, science or medicine, and does not endorse any outside organization or institution. The foundation of the Narcotics Anonymous program is the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. Membership in NA is free, and there are no dues or fees. The third tradition of NA states that the only requirement for membership is 'a desire to stop using.' NA says its meetings are where members can 'meet regularly to help each other stay clean.' All facts and quotes presented in 'The Narcotics Anonymous program' section, unless otherwise sourced, come from the Narcotics Anonymous (Basic Text). Narcotics Anonymous program Membership and organization 11.2 Approaches of other twelve-step groups.

Narcotics anonymous guiding principles