The past few months I have been getting very sick most likely due to my drug use. Physically and emotionally. I'm desperate to do anything to stop using drugs, I can't afford expensive treatment. I'm looking for alternatives I can get involved in to rid myself of this infection.. I'm wondering how many people work an aa or na program and what are your experiences with it? I'm not sure if this is something only in north america or global but if this is deemed worthy of another section please move it. thank you anyone who can provide insight and what should I expect for myself.
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Narcotics Annonynous (NA) does it help you through dark times?
- Thread starter Tromps
- Start date
Pagey
Bluelight Crew
Although I'm not involved in NA right now, I did go for a couple months a few months ago when I was getting off xanax. I stopped going because I wasn't all that at ease there mostly because I was about half the age of everyone else and I just felt a bit out of place. BUT, I think you should definitely try it out at least - no harm in that. Go there and see what you think, I met a few people there who'd been going for literally decades and couldn't live without and had just gotten so much help there.
I personally didn't agree with a few of their rules - like the whole higher power or being powerless to your addiction - but that's just me; and even then I was able to meet some great people and I can tell you my sponsor did help me a huge amount. I continued to see her even after I stopped going to the meetings.
It's great to be in an environment where everyone has been through that same trauma as you and understands what a horrible and difficult place you're at. The support is wonderful.
My first meeting was a speaker meeting and I remember this 60+ man talked about how up to 5 years ago, he'd been IV'ing heroin for 30 years, had been homeless for about 10. He said something about how he would literally take showers where more blood than water would come off him because he was just trying to find new veins. It was incredibly inspiring to see that someone who had gotten to that point could now have over 5 years clean and be so dedicated to helping others - and it just made me feel like if he could live through that, then I'd get through my addiction as well.
I also met a man there who'd been clean for over 20 years. He said he didn't need NA anymore for himself but he still came once every week or so just to be able to help others and give others courage.
I say go for it.
Oh, just an afterthought - remember to tell them it's your first meeting and at the end of it, expect to be approached by a number of people offering your their number and for them to be your sponsor. Don't feel obliged to get a sponsor right away but definitely choose someone you get along with well, that's the person you can call whenever you feel like you might relapse.
I personally didn't agree with a few of their rules - like the whole higher power or being powerless to your addiction - but that's just me; and even then I was able to meet some great people and I can tell you my sponsor did help me a huge amount. I continued to see her even after I stopped going to the meetings.
It's great to be in an environment where everyone has been through that same trauma as you and understands what a horrible and difficult place you're at. The support is wonderful.
My first meeting was a speaker meeting and I remember this 60+ man talked about how up to 5 years ago, he'd been IV'ing heroin for 30 years, had been homeless for about 10. He said something about how he would literally take showers where more blood than water would come off him because he was just trying to find new veins. It was incredibly inspiring to see that someone who had gotten to that point could now have over 5 years clean and be so dedicated to helping others - and it just made me feel like if he could live through that, then I'd get through my addiction as well.
I also met a man there who'd been clean for over 20 years. He said he didn't need NA anymore for himself but he still came once every week or so just to be able to help others and give others courage.
I say go for it.
Oh, just an afterthought - remember to tell them it's your first meeting and at the end of it, expect to be approached by a number of people offering your their number and for them to be your sponsor. Don't feel obliged to get a sponsor right away but definitely choose someone you get along with well, that's the person you can call whenever you feel like you might relapse.
eireann
Bluelighter
n/a helped me a lot it,when i was detoxing off heroin and needed to feel that i wasnt insane due to the months of anxiety and depression.
the guys there were great and explained how long i could expect the mental side effects to last etc.
its worth going as the advice is so helpful all the people attending were or are in the same position as you!!!
the guys there were great and explained how long i could expect the mental side effects to last etc.
its worth going as the advice is so helpful all the people attending were or are in the same position as you!!!
bunnymunro
Bluelighter
Fully agree with the posts above... the non-judgmental support is great, and it is powered by the people, not an entity... therefore no ulterior motives. I met some great people, and it makes you realise that you are not alone in the world of addiction.
Good luck with your progress in becoming free of addiction... its a long and arduous path, and its always nearby... but a day at a time (as they say), someone famous said, "the hardest part of any journey is the first step" or something
Good luck with your progress in becoming free of addiction... its a long and arduous path, and its always nearby... but a day at a time (as they say), someone famous said, "the hardest part of any journey is the first step" or something
ArtVandalay
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2008
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- 713
I remember early in recovery, just the act of getting out and going to NA helped a lot. I wanted to be alone and sulk but forced my self to go, which in turn improved my mood because I felt like I accomplished something. That gave me motivation to see it through, kept the momentum going.
OverDone
Bluelight Crew
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Yes. NA is global (129 countries with literature published in 41 languages).
Not only has NA helped me stay clean, it has helped me to change my perspective (which was based on bad information and the willingness to make the same mistakes). I have a life worth living thanks to folks in the Program helping me learn how to change those old ideas, attitudes and behaviors.
Give it a whole hearted effort by following direction and you may find yourself surprised at the results
Not only has NA helped me stay clean, it has helped me to change my perspective (which was based on bad information and the willingness to make the same mistakes). I have a life worth living thanks to folks in the Program helping me learn how to change those old ideas, attitudes and behaviors.
Give it a whole hearted effort by following direction and you may find yourself surprised at the results
joonya77
Bluelighter
Congratulations on wanting to get clean. You can do it. I am ten days clean myself and your question hits home because I just attempted to go to my first meeting tonight. But the information on the computer was bad, and there was no meeting when I got there, just an empty church. But there are a few more in my area tonight and I am gonna go hit one.
I am a member of a different 12 step fellowship (not aa) & what you will find in the rooms is people who understand the insanity you live. Members will offer you peer support & encouragement.
I learnt early on that I could not deal with a day at a time so I took life in 10 minute blocks. You don't have to stop using to attend (helps if you do) just have the desire to stop.
Also if you feel uncomfortable in a meeting try a new one. I found that I needed daily meetings for the first six months as I was feeding my addiction daily. Now I attend if I need a check up from the neck up but it works if you work it.
How far will you go to score? If you put much time & effort into your recovery as your using then good things will happen.
I learnt early on that I could not deal with a day at a time so I took life in 10 minute blocks. You don't have to stop using to attend (helps if you do) just have the desire to stop.
Also if you feel uncomfortable in a meeting try a new one. I found that I needed daily meetings for the first six months as I was feeding my addiction daily. Now I attend if I need a check up from the neck up but it works if you work it.
How far will you go to score? If you put much time & effort into your recovery as your using then good things will happen.
mrflowers00
Ex-Bluelighter
i prefer AA over NA cause in AA the seem more into the program and it has helped me a lot in the past i just relapse a lot and the longest i've been sober is 9 months and thats only because i was in a few nut huts
bbgirlclueless
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2012
- Messages
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where i live there is no NA,just depression and anxiety (poetic![:\](https://bluelight.org/xf/BL_Images/Orig_Emoji/wrygrin.gif "wry grin :\")
)
)
eireann
Bluelighter
where i live there is no NA,just depression and anxiety (poetic
where do you live? im in eire and we have AA-OBVIOUSLY!! but we also have n/a and c/a which is good because the town im in now only has a population of 7,000
bbgirlclueless
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2012
- Messages
- 140
I live in india and no one cares about drug abusers,people want them to live on the streets and die there..
and no one cares about drug abusers,people want them to live on the streets and die there..
junglejuice
Bluelight Crew
where i live there is no NA,just depression and anxiety (poetic
There are groups in Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and more.
That's just what came up in the first couple Google results for "Narcotics Anonymous India".
They are WORLDWIDE, AA even moreso.
Good luck
Oh I would do about anything to get high. Steal, lie, pawn what ever I had or could find just for some dope money.
Looking at the first step, I can admit my life's become unmanageable. Not long ago I dropped out of college, quit my job, because I was too sick just to get through it anymore. And ever since its just been going down hill to the point I'm on the brink of being homeless. The past months I have been so sick I can't do anything without taking drugs. Just to get out of bed I need to use, all day, and then even to go to bed I need to be high. It kills me to think I let my life come to this, I have been so blind to the fact that I've been destroying myself, and thought if I just used more drugs I would be ok. I'm 21 years old now, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Other people I see my age are about to graduate college, have loving partners, getting engaged, starting careers and internships. Just writing this makes me cry, and it's fucking pathetic. I had so many dreams and hopes for myself that I abandoned, for what? A fucking drug ?
At least I realize what I need to do now, and that drugs can't be apart of my life if I want to be someone more then just a surviving, mooching, child. Because that's all I'm doing right now, and that's all I feel like. I want to be able to support myself, be productive and do good in the world. I'll be going to meetings daily, and so far I have felt very comfortable there and know there's hope seeing people who were in similar if not worse situations that are clean and living a happy life now.
Thank you all for your support and encouraging words, it feels good to know complete strangers believe in me, even when I can barely believe in myself. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
eireann
Bluelighter
brilliant attitude dude,thats the same way i was living and felt last year i was hooked for 5 years,by the 10th of next month im one year clean...so you can do it too.
mrflowers00
Ex-Bluelighter
you are allowed to date in NA/AA but what they call the 13th step is don't get into a relationship in your first year of sobriety
That's the thing Tromps you will need to replace the negative behaviour patterns with ones conductive to a fulfilling life. It is far from easy especially if your life revolves around your addiction.
It is achievable but directly proportionate to the hard work you put in. I have learnt that left to my own devices my default setting is self destruction. In my world bad ideas become great ones & my best efforts resulted in a nightmare existance.
Recovery takes time but you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot. You can always go back for more "research" if you like & there is no shame in picking up. You are an addict & as an addict it is perfectly normal to use.
Just stick with it & if you attend & relapse then no one will be happier to see you than N.A.
It is achievable but directly proportionate to the hard work you put in. I have learnt that left to my own devices my default setting is self destruction. In my world bad ideas become great ones & my best efforts resulted in a nightmare existance.
Recovery takes time but you have nothing to lose by giving it a shot. You can always go back for more "research" if you like & there is no shame in picking up. You are an addict & as an addict it is perfectly normal to use.
Just stick with it & if you attend & relapse then no one will be happier to see you than N.A.
Missykins
Bluelighter
I believe that it can. But it requires a willingness to be open.
Open-mindedness and willingness seem to me core spiritual principles of the
program. It is the heart of Step Two. Without it I cannot change. The
program is pragmatic and experiential: I listen to others share their
experience, strength, and hope, then "act as if" and "keep what works." But to be open, I must
believe there is something to be open to; that's what I mean by
spirituality. At the very least, I need openness to my own future. In other
words, I believe recovery depends on a sense that a perspective other than
my own exists, either "Good Orderly Direction," or the combined wisdom of
those in the Fellowship, or the accumulated experience of the program. (This is the essence of a "Higher Power," or believing something greater than myself exists.) I needed that the day I walked into my first meeting. I still need it now. I don't expect to outgrow it.
If I am to recover, I must be honest about what works for me, open to other
things working, and willing to give those things a try - or at least to let
them be. I cannot continue to grow in recovery when theory replaces
experience, stubbornness replaces strength, and control replaces hope.
Hope this helps.
Open-mindedness and willingness seem to me core spiritual principles of the
program. It is the heart of Step Two. Without it I cannot change. The
program is pragmatic and experiential: I listen to others share their
experience, strength, and hope, then "act as if" and "keep what works." But to be open, I must
believe there is something to be open to; that's what I mean by
spirituality. At the very least, I need openness to my own future. In other
words, I believe recovery depends on a sense that a perspective other than
my own exists, either "Good Orderly Direction," or the combined wisdom of
those in the Fellowship, or the accumulated experience of the program. (This is the essence of a "Higher Power," or believing something greater than myself exists.) I needed that the day I walked into my first meeting. I still need it now. I don't expect to outgrow it.
If I am to recover, I must be honest about what works for me, open to other
things working, and willing to give those things a try - or at least to let
them be. I cannot continue to grow in recovery when theory replaces
experience, stubbornness replaces strength, and control replaces hope.
Hope this helps.