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

Meetings

Locate an NA meeting near you for each day of the week

Encuentre una reunión de NA

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

July 20, 2026
Step One
Page 210
"We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable."
Step One

The First Step begins with "we," and there's a reason for that. There is great strength in making a verbal admission of our powerlessness. And when we go to meetings and make this admission, we gain more than personal strength. We become members, part of a collective "we" that allows us, together, to recover from our addiction. With membership in NA comes a wealth of experience: the experience of other addicts who have found a way to recover from their disease.

No longer must we try to solve the puzzle of our addiction on our own. When we honestly admit our powerlessness over our addiction, we can begin the search for a better way to live. We won't be searching alone--we're in good company.

Just for Today: I will start the day with an admission of my powerlessness over my addiction. I will remind myself that the First Step starts with "we," and know that I never have to be alone with my disease again.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

July 21, 2026
Freedom to Heal
Page 209
"Gradually, we come to experience freedom from some of our deepest wounds. As we begin to clear up some of the confusion and contradiction in our lives, we can move forward with less of the baggage we brought in with us."
Living Clean, Chapter 4, "Sex"

Freedom for any recovering addict begins with not using. But as the fog lifts, our emotional turmoil becomes more apparent. To stay clean, we need a different approach to deal with our underlying issues. We understand we can be free from active addiction--but can we be free from our deepest wounds?

We'd love that answer to be a resounding "absolutely!"--and for some, it will be. But for many of us who've suffered traumas and abuse, the more realistic answer is: We can heal. We can move forward. We can gain more freedom than we have today. Recovery from addiction is a process, and so is letting go of "baggage," especially the burdens we never asked for and, no doubt, the ones we inflicted on others.

That process can be fierce, terrifying, sometimes beautiful, often unexpected. We gain freedom from working Steps and sharing about our past with each other. We get relief through meditation and prayer, perhaps through outside help, through the passage of time and patience with ourselves. We try not to avoid or disconnect from painful memories. Instead, we deal with our baggage as best we can and realize that some of what we've been carrying isn't ours. We come to some acceptance and healing, finding forgiveness for ourselves for not letting go. And, equally as important, we help others to do the same.

While some wounds may never fully heal, they don't overwhelm us today. They don't run our lives--or our relationships with others, with our bodies, and with the world. We can learn how to relate to others and respond to their needs without sacrificing our own. We can be vulnerable and explore physical and emotional intimacy. We can find freedom, lose it a little, and regain it by digging in again.

My pain doesn't define me, and I can use it to help someone else heal. I will find both refuge and freedom in the Steps and in my fellow addict.