12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous EXPLAINED

This is the list of ways Narcotics Anonymous says that the program works:

1. You make the commitment, one day at a time, not to use drugs no matter what.

2. You go to regularly scheduled meetings, which last one hour long. N.A. meets in cities and towns across the United States and around the world. You can do a search online and find a meeting near you. Meeting schedules will also be made available at meetings which will give you a list of local meetings. You can also go to meetings online.

3. You get a sponsor. A sponsor is someone who provides guidance and helps you stay clean one day at a time. The primary function of a sponsor is to work you through the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous.

4. You work the 12 Steps of Narcotics Anonymous with the help of a sponsor and apply the principles from the steps in your daily life.

5. You fellowship with other recovering addicts and build a support system of other people who are staying clean too.

As you can see, the 12 Steps of NA is the main goal throughout this process. Let's delve into what these really mean.

Step 1: "We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction; that our lives had become unmanageable."

The first step is to admit there is a problem. Denial is one of the largest coping mechanisms a human being has, so why wouldn't we use it? In the world of the play, Emma is powerless over her using of drugs and alcohol.

Step 2: "We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity."

In the world of the play, I believe that Emma's mother is the Power. At the end of the play we see that Emma truly only wants her mother's approval. That approval is what Emma needs to be freed of her guilt.

Step 3: "We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him."

"God" in the world of the play is shown as "powerless over nouns". People, Places, and Things that cause you to go back to your old ways. This step is consciously turning your life over to the things that will make yourself better, or realizing what the trigger to your using is.

Step 4: "We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."

Pretty self explanatory, finding the trauma within yourself. What triggered the starting of your using?

Step 5: "We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs."

The actual proclamation of step 4. Whether it be writing it down, speaking it in a group setting, or keeping a personal mental note, speaking it into existence is a key part in overcoming addiction of any kind.

Step 6: "We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."

In other words, being ready to ask for an apology. Being ready to ask for forgiveness.

Step 7: "We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."

Actually asking the apology.

Step 8: "We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all."

Making a list of the people, places, and things that were damaged by your actions. Then, taking steps to amend those damaged nouns.

Step 9: "We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

Actually making those amends, taking the steps you wrote down in the previous step.

Step 10: "We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it."

When things fail, or bring you back, you are able to identify your behaviors and admit them. Continue to monitor yourself as to not fall back into bad habits.

Step 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."

This step is definitely portrayed differently in the world of the play. I think this is seen through practice with the group. They improve their contact with those outside the facility by practicing what to say when they are able to make the amends they wish to make.

Step 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."

This step is also different than in the world of the play. Rather than a spiritual awakening, we see that the patients in the facility don't just have spiritual awakenings, but they also have realistic awakenings. They become aware of their behavior and where they went wrong, and have consciously improved themselves as to help others in their journey.

According to Narcotics Anonymous, they believe that each individual has the right to chose their own "higher power", whether it be religious or not.