Hi Missy,

welcome to Miracles In Progress Group.

Wishing you all the best in your resolve to stay clean and recover Glad you found us.

As an addict who got sick and tired of being sick and tired due to my using drugs in an attempt to change the way I felt and lived, finding help where it's available, reaching out and expressing my desire to stop using drugs was the best thing that I could have done, and I see that you've done the same

I never had to do it alone once I found recovering addicts in Narcotics Anonymous who have been through what I had been through, who could actually understand my situation and could relate with my experiences was and is a great blessing for an addict like me. I felt so very relieved to find other addicts who have gone through it all and much worse, yet have found a way into the solution, to living clean, not having to use drugs ever again Just For Today. Coming back to this fellowship of NA and reaching out to these recovering addicts again and again on a daily basis was the greatest evidence for me that IT IS POSSIBLE and that this NA recovery program WORKS! I did not have to look any further. Hope replaced my despair. Faith replaced my fear.

Some of the things I did as a struggling newcomer were:

Made a NA recovery meeting everyday with as much commitment as I had towards making sure that I get my drugs everyday

Sharing my problems and issues with other members at these meetings and also one-on-one with members before and after these meetings. Might seem very difficult to do at first, to open our mind and trust another human being, but nevertheless I was so desperate and wanting to stay clean that it didn't matter to me how I felt about it, I just DID it.

Got phone numbers from other members and started using them whenever I felt overwhelmed with thoughts of using something to numb, alter or change the way I felt physically, mentally and emotionally.

Made an honest attempt to accept the fact that whatever information I have gathered and processed in my life till that point might not necessarily be true, that it might be a very limited perception that is blocking my growth in life. Instead, deciding to open my mind to what the members are sharing at these meetings, to the possibility that what they are sharing might be true, learning new things, welcoming fresh perspectives and ideas, trying to gain a personal understanding and awareness by identifying and relating to what others share in NA... This is the most rewarding and fruitful process for me and I'm sure for many others in NA.

Get hold of NA literature books, a collection of recovery experiences of hundreds and thousands of addicts from all over the world, and start reading them. Every single line of these books talked about me, the way I have been using drugs, the way I thought, felt and behaved, and of course, the HOW of dealing with this illness that I suffer from, the recovery process etc. Some of these books that you might want to acquire are [1] Basic Text [2] Just For Today [3] It Works How & Why and of course, a series of Information Pamphlets and Booklets that are also available. You can check get these from the website www.na.org or from the service committee of your local NA fellowship in your town.

I also identified a few members with whom I feel comfortable with, spent a lot of time with them apart from the meetings either in person if possible or through phone, also through internet like you're doing now, and further identified a recovering member who could guide me through the process of working the 12 Steps in my daily life and asked for Sponsorship (a term used for such a relationship in NA).

welcome missy,,
no matter what one used or how much,, the only rewquirement is a desire to stop using !!1
Keepp coming back and more will be revealed !!

Well said Dusti, I agree with you.

I CAN'T BUT WE CAN! Never Alone, never again...