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Welcome to Narcotics Anonymous

What is our message? The message is that an addict, any addict, can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use, and find a new way to live. Our message is hope and the promise of freedom.

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“When new members come to meetings, our sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how we can be of help.”

It Works: How and Why, “Third Tradition”

Is NA for me?

This is a question every potential member must answer for themselves. Here are some recommended resources that may be helpful:

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NA meetings are run by and for addicts. If you're looking for help for a loved one, you can contact Narcotics Anonymous near you. 

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Never before have so many clean addicts, of their own choice and in free society, been able to meet where they please, to maintain their recovery in complete creative freedom.

Basic Text, “We Do Recover”

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Narcotics Anonymous sprang from the Alcoholics Anonymous Program of the late 1940s, with meetings first emerging in the Los Angeles area of California, USA, in the early Fifties. The NA program started as a small US movement that has grown into one of the world's oldest and largest organizations of its type.

Today, Narcotics Anonymous is well established throughout much of the Americas, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Newly formed groups and NA communities are now scattered throughout the Indian subcontinent, Africa, East Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Narcotics Anonymous books and information pamphlets are currently available in 49 languages.

Information About NA

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Daily Meditations

Just for Today

January 11, 2026

Faith
Page 11
“As we develop faith in our daily lives, we find that our Higher Power supplies us with the strength and guidance that we need.“
Basic Text, p. 94
Some of us come into recovery very frightened and insecure. We feel weak and alone. We are uncertain of our direction and don't know where to go for answers. We are told that if we find some faith in a Power greater than ourselves, we will find security and guidance. We want that feeling of safety and strength. But faith doesn't come overnight. It takes time and effort to grow.

The seed is planted when we ask our Higher Power for help and then acknowledge the source of our help when it comes. We nurture the tiny seed of faith with the sunlight of our prayers each day. Our faith grows, a reward for living life on its own terms. One day we realize our faith has become like a huge spreading tree; it doesn't stop the storms of life, but we know that we are safe in its shelter.

Just for Today: I know that faith in my Higher Power will not calm the storms of life, but it will calm my heart. I will let my faith shelter me in times of trouble.

A Spiritual Principle a Day

January 11, 2026

Striking an Emotional Balance
Page 11
“We need to strike a balance between being in denial of our feelings and letting them overwhelm us; we don't want to go to either extreme.“
NA Step Working Guides, Step Ten, “Feeling versus Doing”
“Feelings aren't facts, but it is a fact that we feel,” a member shared, as many have. “And in recovery, our actions matter more than our feelings.”

We hear some version of these bumper stickers in meetings pretty often. Doing the “right” thing, even when that action contradicts how we're feeling, is certainly a shared value among many members. But should we just leave feelings unexpressed–especially those that come with a lot of baggage, such as anger, fear, and shame? Nope. Consciously or not, we'll eventually let those feelings seep out, weaponizing them against ourselves or others.

Striking a balance between suppressing our feelings and being emotionally overwhelmed doesn't look the same on all recovering addicts. Many of us are emotional projectiles; anything will set us off, and anyone in our path will also feel the burn. For others, avoidance is our strategy–we'd rather deny, deny, deny.

And while it's true that we should take caution when letting our emotions drive our actions, we should not deny that feelings are real. They are also temporary, which is why other members may suggest we take a pause, breathe, scream into a pillow, and/or talk about how we're feeling with another addict.

Seeking emotional balance is a practice, not a state of being we arrive and stay at. As with all aspects of recovery, there's no perfect way to negotiate and monitor our practice of emotional balance. We aren't self-programming robots that can curate a perfectly authentic set of emotions that don't swing too far in any unreasonable direction. Lucky for us and those around us, we are clean, and we can lean on the tools of NA to help keep us from imploding or exploding.
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I will make a practice of expressing my very real feelings in a productive way and not letting them force my actions.

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“If you’re new to NA or planning to go to a Narcotics Anonymous meeting for the first time, it might be nice to know a little bit about what happens in our meetings. The information here is meant to give you an understanding of what we do when we come together to share recovery…” 

An Introduction to NA Meetings

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