Identification
“Someone finally knew the crazy thoughts that I had and the crazy things I’d done.”
Basic Text p. 175
Addicts often feel terminally unique. We’re sure that no one used drugs like we did or
had to do the things that we did to get them. Feeling that no one really understands
us can keep us from recovery for many years.
But once we come to the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, we begin to lose that
feeling of being “the worst” or “the craziest.” We listen as members share their
experiences. We discover that others have walked the same twisted path that we’ve
walked and still have been able to find recovery. We begin to believe that recovery is
available to us, too.
As we progress in our own recovery, sometimes our thinking is still insane. However,
we find that when we share the hard time we may be having, others identify, sharing
how they have dealt with such difficulties. No matter how troubled our thinking
seems, we find hope when others relate to us, passing along the solutions they’ve
found. We begin to believe that we can survive whatever we’re going through to
continue on in our recovery.
The gift of Narcotics Anonymous is that we learn we are not alone. We can get clean
and stay clean by sharing our experience, our strength, and even our crazy thinking
with other members. When we do, we open ourselves to the solutions others have
found to the challenges we face.
Just for today: I am grateful that I can identify with others. Today, I will listen as
they share their experience, and I’ll share mine with them.