12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous Explained
Legacy Healing Center Blog
Narcotics Anonymous is a community of individuals focused on beating their drug addictions
Have you ever wondered what a 12 step program entails or what to expect from a program such as narcotics anonymous?
Narcotics anonymous began in 1953 as a nonprofit fellowship for individuals recovering from an addiction to drugs.
This group was formed to help individuals struggling with an addiction to a drug, instead of focusing on alcohol. The group was founded in California and although it went through many ups and downs, it caught on in the 1970’s and meetings began to pop up all over the world.
This specific 12 step program is one of the largest organizations in the world while hosting free meetings that anyone can attend as long as they have a real desire to stay clean and live a clean lifestyle.
Continue reading to learn more about narcotics anonymous 12 steps and what individuals in the program can expect from this 12 step program.
Recovery – The Need for a 12 Step Program
Recovery is possible but it’s even more possible with a supportive community supporting the individual who is wanting to turn their life around.
This sort of community comes from programs such as narcotics anonymous and they were created serve as a foundation for individuals to begin rebuilding their future and meet other individuals who can be of support to them.
Narcotics Anonymous 12 Steps
The 12 steps of narcotics anonymous are as follows:
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 out and give 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 the 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.
The steps of this 12 step program sort of mirrors the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous as they have a similar goal of living a clean, healthy life.
What does a session, or sessions of a program such as narcotics anonymous look like?
12 Step Program
When individuals attend a 12 step program meeting, the group will go through phases, discussing progress through each of the steps as well as watching the progress of sobriety.
When attending regular meetings and making individuals goals to work towards allows individuals a chance to overcome cravings and gaining control over life.
Where not all people are alike, some individuals will attend just one meeting, where others will attend meetings, going through all 12 steps and making a lifelong commitment.
Although it’s possible that not everyone identifies with the steps of NA, whatever an individual chooses as their “higher power” is up to each and every person.
Call Legacy Healing Center today at 888-597-3547 to learn more about our addiction programs.