The best source of help is another addict in recovery. We encourage you to attend an NA meeting.  We suggest you raise your hand and say you are new, or approach an NA member before or after the meeting. Get phone numbers and free literature. Make contact with other addicts in recovery. To find an NA meeting near you, click here

Second best, call a helpline in your area and talk to another addict:

Nassau: (516) 827-9500

Brooklyn, Bronx,Queens & Staten Island: (718 ) 962-6244

Suffolk: (631) 689-6262

Manhattan and the Greater NY Region: (212) 929-6262

Am I an addict?

If you know the answer is yes, find a meeting in your area here & come along – no appointment needed – or call the Helpline on the number above.

If you’re in two minds, read on: 
All of us who eventually arrived at an NA Meeting had to ask ourselves this crucial question. It is perhaps the most difficult decision we have ever had to make. Maybe we could admit that we had addictive tendencies when it came to food, work and play etc, but never drugs! Denial played a great part in preventing us from answering honestly.

There is however a pamphlet with a series of questions which can help: It is called “Am I an addict?” and here is part of the questionnaire:

  1. Do you ever use alone?
  2. Have you ever substituted one drug for another, thinking that one particular drug was the problem?
  3. Have you ever manipulated or lied to a doctor to obtain prescription drugs?
  4. Have you ever stolen drugs or stolen to obtain drugs?
  5. Do you regularly use a drug when you wake up or when you go to bed?
  6. Have you ever taken one drug to overcome the effects of another?
  7. Do you avoid people or places that do not approve of you using drugs?
  8. Have you ever used a drug without knowing what it was or what it would do to you?
  9. Has your job or school performance ever suffered from the effects of your drug use?
  10. Have you ever been arrested as a result of using drugs?
  11. Have you ever lied about what or how much you use?
  12. Do you put the purchase of drugs ahead of your financial responsibilities?
  13. Have you ever tried to stop or control your using?
  14. Have you ever been in a jail, hospital, or drug rehabilitation center because of your using?
  15. Does using interfere with your sleeping or eating?
  16. Does the thought of running out of drugs terrify you?
  17. Do you feel it is impossible for you to live without drugs?
  18. Do you ever question your own sanity?
  19. Is your drug use making life at home unhappy?
  20. Have you ever thought you couldn’t fit in or have a good time without drugs?

The whole pamphlet is reproduced online by the World Service Office HERE.

There are other pamphlets available online, checkout the links below.

Informational pamphlets are another good source of help:

Am I an Addict? An excellent tool for self diagnosis.

Welcome to NA  Written to answer some of your questions about Narcotics Anonymous.

For the Newcomer If you’re new to NA, this is great help at the beginning.

An Introduction to NA Meetings  Gives some idea of what an NA meeting is like.

By Young Addicts, For Young Addicts  Just what it says, young addicts in recovery speak to their peers.

The White Booklet. A basic of recovery since the early days of NA, this is its latest revision.

An Introductory Guide to Narcotics Anonymous, Revised. Eleven informational pamphlets in one booklet..

Despite the name Narcotics Anonymous, we are not limited as to drugs used. “Narcotics Anonymous offers recovery to addicts around the world. We focus on the disease of addiction rather than any particular drug.  Our message is broad enough to attract addicts from any social class or nationality. When new members come to meetings, our sole interest is in their desire for freedom from active addiction and how we can be of help.” (It Works: How and Why, “Third Tradition”).