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
We arrived in NA at the lowest point in our lives. We'd just about run out of ideas. What we needed most when we got here were new ideas, new ways of living, shared from the experience of people who'd seen those ideas work. Yet our closed minds prevented us from taking in the very ideas we needed to live.
Denial keeps us from appreciating just how badly we really need new ideas and new direction. By admitting our powerlessness and recognizing how truly unmanageable our lives have become, we allow ourselves to see how much we need what NA has to offer.
Self-dependence and self-will can keep us from admitting even the possibility of the existence of a Power greater than ourselves. However, when we admit the sorry state self-will has gotten us into, we open our eyes and our minds to new possibilities. When others tell us of a Power that has brought sanity to their lives, we begin to believe that such a Power may do the same for us.
A tree stripped of its branches will die unless new branches can be grafted onto its trunk. In the same way, addiction stripped us of whatever direction we had. To grow or even to survive, we must open our minds and allow new ideas to be grafted onto our lives.
A Spiritual Principle a Day
We approach the "God Thing"--as some refer to spirituality in recovery--from different places. It can be a major obstacle, a great relief, or something we consistently grapple with. Many of us struggle to identify a set of beliefs--or any belief--that sits right with us, while others find the exploration itself to be profound and rewarding. Some of us have always considered ourselves to be people of faith and find that recovery helps us walk our talk.
Some of us have no spiritual belief or practice to speak of when we begin our recovery journey. But we adapt easily to the idea of a power greater than ourselves. We're told that it can be anything as long as it's loving. The group? Nature? An aspirational "higher self"? No problem! Praying to one or more of these powers makes practical sense for many members. Others of us share about our experience staying clean without getting hung up on defining a Higher Power. "When a longtime member spoke of their failed attempt to create a best friend with super powers, it dawned on me that belief in a deity or supreme being wasn't required," one member shared. "What a relief! Atheists stay clean in NA, too."
Then there are those of us who struggle with it all. We don't believe, but we don't not believe. Infinite choices confound and frustrate us. We bristle at "loving," obsess about contradictions in NA literature, or feel pressure to invent something innovative. We're challenged by one member's belief that we are relapse-bound without capital-G God and another member's flippant attitude about needing one at all. We feel we have to believe. What if we never get there?
"You're actually doing better than you're feeling," a member whose recovery we respect offers. "There may not be a place to 'get to.' Why not do the next right thing and stay in the struggle?" In practical terms, that means taking actions that align with our values or beliefs--even when we're still figuring those out.
"In a pinch, you can borrow my Higher Power," another member offers. "Maybe it's enough that I believe in something that helps me stay clean." Why not? We'll try it--because we have choices in NA. Plus, we need a break from the struggle.
