Legacy Healing Center Blog

Learn What Makes the Narcotics Anonymous 12 Steps Program So Successful 

You have probably heard about Narcotics Anonymous but perhaps you are wondering how the organization’s 12 steps can help you or someone you love overcome addiction. Founded in 1953 as an offshoot of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an addiction recovery organization created for individuals who are addicted to narcotics. Narcotics Anonymous 12 steps program is open to anyone who wants to overcome his or her substance use disorder.  

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The program is free, and stresses the importance of relying on a Higher Power for guidance and strength. It also emphasizes the importance of a social support system of family, friends, and NA groups that regularly meet across the U.S. The group follows a specific set of guidelines, and provides mutual support and encouragement among its members. 

Individuals who attend a narcotics’ anonymous 12 steps program receive complete confidentiality and anonymity as a member of the group. Members do not have to reveal their name, or any other identifying information. The only prerequisite for joining the group is a deep desire to stop using narcotics. 

Plus, Narcotics Anonymous is not affiliated with any other group, organization or religion, and members are free to engage in their own spiritual or religious persuasion. Narcotics Anonymous programs provide an effective treatment option for anyone who is addicted to narcotics and wishes to recover.  

The 12 Steps

The narcotics anonymous 12 steps program is comprised of 12 steps that are initially followed in their given order, but certain steps may have to be revisited during the course of recovery. The 12 steps are: 

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction; that our lives had become unmanageable. 
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. 
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.  
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. 
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. 
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. 
10.  We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. 
11.  We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. 
12.  Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

A Spiritual Awakening

Narcotics Anonymous is considered by many to be a spiritual recovery program with an emphasis on a Higher Power, or God. Many individuals who have followed the program have encountered a spiritual awakening during their time spent with their Higher Power, and have developed a close relationship with their God. Their relationship provides a continuous source of strength and focus on sobriety. 

NA meetings may be closed to outsiders, but some meetings do allow family members to sit-in. During meetings, members should be treated with mutual respect and support, and personal sharing is voluntary. Some meetings may have a scheduled special guest speaker, and all meetings touch on important topics that are relevant to addiction and recovery. Narcotics Anonymous is an effective treatment program for the successful recovery of narcotic addiction. 

If you or someone you love is struggling with narcotic addiction, learn how detox and rehab treatment options that include these 12 steps can help you. An addiction specialist at Legacy Healing Center is looking forward to sharing more information with you, call us today at 888-534-2295.