My name is Rob and I have been a sober memeber of AA for 27 years (been participating in the MIP AA board for 2 yrs) and am now 51 yrs old.
I did plenty of drugs back in the day and got sober with many young people who probably did more drugs than drinking (very few NA meetings back then).
I live in a college town now, with a number of student 1/2 way houses close to my homegroup, I have been sponsoring a 20 yr old with past heroin addiction as well as alcohol problems and now another guy with the same previous issues who is about 30 yrs old.
Was sponsoring the 20 yr old for about 6 months and he has recently come back after a 1 month spree.
While some in AA might take exception to working with those with major drug issues, my feeling has always been that it's not about the substance, the solution, steps, activity and recovery is same whether we drank, snorted, smoked etc, we where all running from the same shit.
My feeling is that he is just going to have to grow up a little quicker as some of the hard drugs will just get you in the rooms a little faster.
I am kind of shocked at the amount of young people with heroin problems, it was a very dark-back alley kind of drug in my day and it now seems kind of mainstream in our area.
I would like to call on the ESH of this board and ask if you consider my beliefs above to be true.
Are there any different considerations in helping the heroin folks? Suggestions?
These guys came in the rooms and asked for my help for a reason and I have never been one to prejudge or refuse to help. I just want to make sure I don't do them any dis-service and try and learn as much as I can.
Welcome. I've been clean in NA for 26 years (almost 27). Back in my day heroin was not as maintsteam as it seems to be today. There seem to be a lot more dangerous drugs out there too: crack, meth, oxycodone, etc. My philosophy is that a drug is a drug. I think the best thing that drug addicts can do is attend NA meetings on a regular basis. I think AA is a great program, but its focus really is on alcohol, not other drugs.
HI and welcome. I find it curious when you say "my feeling has always been that it's not about the substance, " because that is straight from the NA philosophy. AA on the other hand makes it very clear that they are substance specific. "We cannot be all things to all people" I think is the way Bill W. put it. I respect that. So as an NA person, of course I agree with your belief, but I do understand and respect the singular focus on alcohol that AA espouses. There are more and people attending both fellowships, who bring this multi-dimensional approach. They are easily recognized when they introduce themselves as 'addict and alcoholic'. IMHO this 'blending' of the fellowships weakens both of them. The fellowships are different. While the written steps are identical except for 'addiction' being substituted for 'alcoholism'. but how we work the steps is vastly different. There is nothing in AA that comes anywhere near the Narcotics Anonymous step working guide. If you haven't already done so, pick up a copy and see the depth and detail of our lives that it covers in very specific ways. I also believe that if a person came to you and asked for help and you wish to help them, then this gets into higher power stuff, so I have nothing to say except "I wish you and your sponsees, all health and success in your journey to health and God centered living"
Hi Rob,good to see ya!! Good work with sponsorship and your own recovery.Yes I also believe there are a couple, major premises that differ with each fellowship ,#1 In NA we believe we suffer from the "Disease of Addiction" and not that addiction is a symptom of Alcoholism....We SUFFER FROM A PHYSICAL,MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ILLNESS THAT MANIFESTS ITSELF IN ALL AREAS OF OUR LIVES(also in AA)..#2 Step work in Narcotics Anonymous is much more in depth, it is not unusual for a newcomer to stay on 1st Step for his first year(called 1st year for free in our area)We don't arrive at Step #3 as the Big Book states,we work those steps as our Sponsor suggests(sometimes writings,step working guide,tapes,etc)each sponsor differs.It may sound very unusual but it took me 3 years to work through with my sponsor the 1st time I went through the twelve steps, my sponsor is very laid back and he went at a very slow pace,slower than I liked ,but I remained patient,and I have a strong foundation now in the understanding of the steps,with More Always being Revealed)We identify with our(NA) "oneness" that is Addiction" and take the focus off of any one specific drug.Some are definitely sicker than others but BUT LIKE tHE Dr's Opinion .There is a Solution in BigBook,we dont really have degrees (moderate drinker,hard drinker,real alcoholic etc) we dont classify different types of addicts 'THE DISEASE IS ADDICTION AND ONCE WE PUT THE "SUBSTANCE DOWN" WE FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM . I am an active member of Narcotics Anonymous but my 1st Mentor(not sponsor we 'didn't work steps) was from AA(1984,not a lot of NA around up here either).I still announce myself as an advocate of the 3rd tradition if I'm somewhere attending an AA meeting as I do not say I'm and (ANDA) alcoholic and addict.I do believe that blurs both messages and I usually just listen unless it is step work meetings... I would also suggest looking up our literature"Sponsorship,Stepworking Guide,It works How and Why and some other helpful literature on website(GOOGLE www.Na.org)can download info..As you have probably heard me share my now 25 year old is in recovery after 8 long years of hard core Heroin addiction. It is rampant here in upstate New York and cheap and deadly as is OXY,VIC,CRACK ETC. Great service in reaching out one to another in sponsorship ,stick around okay ,many on this site willing to share ESH IN A loving and caring manner...I also will celebrate 27 years free from active drug addiction(alcohol is a drug) in Dec this year(not coping short here :) if God so wills it....I continue to live in the NA WAY ,IN SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES GUIDED ON TOP BY MY Higher Power and giving back to the best of my ability, only through God's grace(unmerited favor for me) and mercy..See you on both sides of the moon :) Thanks for showing an interest in NA and willing to help with knowlege about our program.Have a blessed and productive day!!
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Our purpose is to remain clean,just for today,and to carry the message of recovery.
Thank you all so much for the input/insights and the welcome.
I didn't realize the differences in the 2 programs, I checked out the NA step guide online and it was very impressive and comprehesive. We do talk about other obsessions/addictive personality/ dry drunks, to some degree in AA, but I think NA is correct in giving those things more attention.
After learning about the inclusiveness of NA, I wonder why CA, CMA etc decided to break away, not so sure it's healthy to think you need to focus on a specific drug or our "uniqueness".
There does seem to be more younger people attending both groups, so I'm glad I've learned some things.
First, a little background of where I'm coming from:
My DOC was alcohol & marijuana. I could have gone to either fellowship and found identification. I felt, deep down, that I was more than just an alcoholic. When I put down the substance, my life didn't get better... in fact, it got worse. I tried to fill the void I felt with a number of different things: sex, spending, food, video games, etc. In the beginning of my recovery, you could tell the state of my mental health based on the balance in our checking account. :)
The program of Narcotics Anonymous focuses on the disease of addiction, not the substances we used. In the beginning, I was finding it hard fit in because I didn't use the same drugs others had. When I really listened to the readings, I finally understood: it doesn't matter what or how much you used; the only requirement is a desire to stop using.
It's been said that drugs are the things we put in our bodies; addiction is that funny thing between my ears that lies to me.
I've been able to use the program of Narcotics Anonymous to combat compulsive spending, sex addiction, quitting smoking, and currently looking at my eating habits. I like that it focuses on the disease and not the substance. It all boils down to me not being okay with me.
That being said, I would refer anyone with problems outside of just alcohol to the NA program. That's why it's there. Our predecessors fought for us to have our own meetings. 60 years ago, it was illegal for any of us to meet. Today we are meeting in numbers that astound me. If you want to continue to sponsor this individual, I would seriously think about the fact that we cannot give away what we don't have. I had to let go of a sponsee because she wanted to work an AA program. I've only attended a handful of AA meetings in my 4 years in recovery and since I can't give away what I don't have, I pointed her in the direction of some great women in the AA fellowship. I told her I would always be there for her if she needed someone to talk to, but as a sponsor, it just won't work.
I don't know why they have CA, CMA, MA, etc. I suppose they figure people recovering from those specific addictions deal with different problems than those addicted to other drugs. What gets me is that I don't know of any meth addict who didn't use other drugs, as well. For that matter, how many real alcoholics are out there anymore? The ones who ONLY used alcohol? Yeah...
Anyway... that's my two cents. That and a 5 dollar bill will get you a coffee at Starbucks.
