Welcome to Narcotics Anonymous of NJ. Our Message Is…
That an addict, any addict can stop using drugs,
lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live.
Helpline
If you feel you have a problem with drugs, call our helpline
Events
See upcoming NA events and activities in NJ
Narcotics Anonymous is 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.
– Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, page 9
Recovery from addiction is possible and available through the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions of Narcotics Anonymous.
Narcotics Anonymous is FREEDOM from active addiction.
Narcotics Anonymous is an international, community-based association of recovering drug addicts with over 61,000 weekly meetings in over 131 countries worldwide.
Just for Today
Why do we call them "shortcomings"? Perhaps they should be called "long-goings;" because that's often what it takes for them to fade from our lives. Some of us feel that our shortcomings are the very characteristics that saved our lives when we used. If this is true, then it is little wonder that we sometimes cling to them like old, dear friends.
If we are having trouble with resentment, anger, or fear, we may want to envision what our lives could be like without these troubling defects. Asking ourselves why we react in a certain manner can sometimes root out the fear at the core of our conduct. "Why am I afraid to step beyond these aspects of my personality?" we ask ourselves. "Am I afraid of who I will be without these attributes?"
Once we have uncovered our fear, we are able to move beyond it. We try to imagine what our lives could be like without some of our more glaring shortcomings. This gives us a feeling for what lies past our fear, providing the motivation we need to push through it. Our Higher Power offers us a new vision for our lives, free of our defects. That vision is the essence of our own best, brightest dreams for ourselves. We need not fear that vision.
A Spiritual Principle a Day
In active addiction, dishonesty was organic to how most of us functioned in the world. We did what we had to do to stay high; stealing and being manipulative and deceitful were among our strategies to meet that goal. We were chameleons more adept at figuring out who others wanted us to be than being ourselves. Our skewed perception was that the risk of being real outweighed its benefits.
Lifelong habits die hard. In early recovery, we often find ourselves embellishing our using careers or whitewashing our wrongdoings. We are quick to justify our behavior, blame others, and minimize our feelings. Some of us continue to steal, cheat to get ahead, or promote a clean date that isn't quite . . . accurate. But every time we come to a meeting, we hear that honesty is essential to recovery. We know that we're setting ourselves up for relapse if we don't start telling the truth and acting with integrity. We hear that lesson in others' stories.
So, we practice being honest in all of our affairs. We identify with other members--and vice versa--which encourages us to be more open. Our sponsor helps us to see that being honest is actually the solution to our problems. We adjust our stories to match the truth. Gradually, as our behavior shifts, so does our comfort level with the truth. The perceived danger we felt at being truly ourselves is replaced by the gift of participating in reality and receiving support from our fellow members.
Like any defect, the impulse to lie comes back. Though it's not as habitual, dishonesty may be that rusty old tool we reach for in a jam. Nowadays, when we pop off a lie, it's painful. Our denial and justification wound us. Knowing ourselves and our defects well allows us to put some time between impulse and action. We are able to investigate the urge, forgive ourselves, and humbly ask for help to avoid acting on it.
