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
Addiction is an isolating disease, closing us off from society, family, and self. We hid. We lied. We scorned the lives we saw others living, surely beyond our grasp. Worst of all, we told ourselves there was nothing wrong with us, even though we knew we were desperately ill. Our connection with the world, and with reality itself, was severed. Our lives lost meaning, and we withdrew further and further from reality.
The NA program is designed especially for people like us. It helps reconnect us to the life we were meant to live, drawing us out of our isolation. We stop lying to ourselves about our condition; we admit our powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives. We develop faith that our lives can improve, that recovery is possible, and that happiness is not permanently beyond our grasp. We get honest; we stop hiding; we "show up and tell the truth," no matter what. And as we do, we establish the ties that connect our individual lives to the larger life around us.
We addicts need not live lives of isolation. The Twelve Steps can restore our connection to life and living--if we work them.
A Spiritual Principle a Day
Our willingness to admit to being addicts who are powerless over our addiction in Step One is linked to our willingness to be members of NA in Tradition Three. They are complementary parts of the same surrender. Resistance, doubt, and fear may forestall our initial surrender to seek help by months or years, even decades. But they ultimately are no match for the array of emotions and experiences that drive our decision to let go and allow ourselves to be welcomed into the Fellowship of NA.
All of us have been newcomers to NA; perhaps we're new right now. Regardless of the amount of cleantime we have today, as we read this passage, we have a shared experience of active addiction that compelled us to try something different. We've all had a moment of desperation--or thousands--that brought us to this moment. No doubt we've experienced pain and anguish from using. We've had the courage to walk into an NA meeting for the first time. And whether or not we are feeling it today, we've felt at least a flicker of hope for the future. All of this collective experience gives us the willingness to get through the day clean and to safeguard our NA membership.
It's not uncommon for us to rethink our membership in NA at some point. We may be hurt by or experience abuse from another member. There may be a conflict in our home group or in our region that disheartens us. Our participation in the Fellowship may fade because we're busy with our work, school, and family. Many of us have relapsed, and the reality is that many still will. But we can surrender again--and again and again--and recommit to NA, if we're willing and if we make it back.
To stay clean, experience the fullness of our lives in and out of NA, and keep what we have so we can give it away, we need at least some willingness every day--no matter what emotions are driving it.
