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
Learning to live a new way of life can be difficult. Sometimes, when the going gets especially hard, we're tempted to follow the path of least resistance and live by our old ideas again. We forget that our old ideas were killing us. To live a new way of life, we need to open our minds to new ideas.
Working the steps, attending meetings, sharing with others, trusting a sponsor--these suggestions may meet our resistance, even our rebellion. The NA program requires effort, but each step in the program brings us closer to becoming the kinds of people we truly want to be. We want to change, to grow, to become something more than we are today. To do that, we open our minds, try on the new ideas we've found in NA, and learn to live a new way of life.
A Spiritual Principle a Day
The principle of anonymity is meant to guarantee all of us a place to recover from our addiction today. Though the symptoms of our disease may not be as acute at a given moment, we don't stop needing to participate in our recovery. NA is meant to be free of status or hierarchies that can separate us from one another--or from our connection to our recovery.
But we don't practice anonymity perfectly. We can put our fellow members on various pedestals: wise oldtimer, circuit speaker, service position election winner, sponsor extraordinaire, the one with the perfect relationship or family or money or status outside of NA. Those of us who are subjected to the pedestal may end up sacrificing our needs because we feel like we shouldn't have them anymore. No thoughts of using or acting out on defects! No complacency! Gratitude and service only! We have to maintain the aura of perfection and champion NA at every turn. We don't dare disappoint, so we don't share our pain and doubt. We end up with secrets, and that puts us at risk.
And, honestly, sometimes we give people more credit than they deserve. Cleantime doesn't necessarily equal recovery. Some of us end up believing our own hype and think the rules don't apply. We use our status as a shield or even a bludgeon. But we must resist standing by, perhaps waiting for that huge ego to be brought down a peg. We've watched our fellow members tumble down from their pedestals. Some have lost their lives in that fall.
Sometimes we need to get over ourselves! We don't have to participate in constructing and maintaining our pedestals--or anyone else's. No matter who we are or who others think we are, we need willingness to share honestly, courage to call each other out, and open-mindedness when someone does. We can share pride in our successes, while staying connected to where we came from. We need NA, even when we experience life's gifts, prosperity, and luck.
