Narcotics Anonymous Quotes

The search for a God of our own understanding is one of the most important efforts we will undertake in our recovery. We have complete personal choice and freedom in how we understand our Higher Power. We can each find a Higher Power that does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Because we are powerless over our addiction, we need a Power greater than ourselves to help us.

We can use this Power long before we understand it.

We learn that the program won’t work when we try to adapt it to our life. We must learn to adapt our life to the program.

We learn that our spirit is not apart from us; it is a part of us. We gain awareness of the exact nature of what is right about us. Our fractured personalities come back together into an integrated whole. Integrity is the state of being fully integrated: Our actions, our thinking, our feelings, our ideals, and our values all match up. It takes a long time for a lot of us to get here, and longer still for us to feel like it’s real. More and more, we are able to bring our behavior into alignment with our values and beliefs rather than our feelings and reactions.

Our disease involved much more than just using drugs, so our recovery must involve much more than simple abstinence.

Every time I draw a clean breath, I'm like a fish out of water.

we take the time to allow ourselves the privilege of thinking

by keeping an open mind, sooner or later, we find the help we need.

lest problems of money, property or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

The vulnerability we experience allows us a different experience of love. It is an act of generosity to let people be close to us, and we try to understand that they, too, are going through feelings about what’s happening.

It’s hard to spot a spiritual crisis: Usually it is disguised as a crisis in our relationships, finances, career, or family.

Addiction is nothing but voluntary madness.

Social acceptability does not equal recovery.

Our negative sense of self has been replaced by a positive concern for others. Answers are provided, and problems are solved. It is a great gift to feel human again.

When we forget the effort and the work that it took us to get a period of freedom in our lives, a lack of gratitude sinks in, and self-destruction begins again. Unless action is taken immediately, we run the risk of a relapse that threatens our very existence. Keeping our illusion of reality, rather than using the tools of the program, will return us to isolation. Loneliness will kill us inside and the drugs that almost always come next may do the job completely. The symptoms and the feelings that we experienced at the end of our using will come back even stronger than before. This impact is sure to destroy us if we don’t surrender ourselves to the NA Program.