Information about NA – Narcotics Anonymous in Costa Rica – Costa Rica Treatment Center
Narcotics Anonymous in Costa Rica
The NA program is a way of life which is based in the Twelve Steps. The steps offer members an avenue for growth and change to maintain their recovery. We learn how to apply these steps to our lives by reading NA literature and going to meetings.
This page is meant to give you as much information on narcotics anonymous in Costa Rica. If you are visiting Costa Rica on vacation or relocating here, we can help you get acquainted with local meetings in your area.
English-speaking Narcotics Anonymous meetings in Costa Rica vary in size – some groups only have three or four members, while others have upwards of 100 members. If you need any help at all, please feel free to contact us today at +1 888 981 9092 or locally at +506 4033-7830.
A few of the groups welcome members from other Twelve Step Programs but all NA meetings focus on the NA Program of Recovery. If by any chance you get to a meeting on time, and no one is there yet, just relax and wait a few moments; someone will surely appear. If you find yourself in a crisis where a drugs sound like a good idea, please do not hesitate to call us directly. Your sobriety matters to us. In the meantime, enjoy your time here, and remember “Easy Does It!” Especially in Costa Rica!
The Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions Of Alcoholics Anonymous
The 12 Steps Of Narcotics Anonymous
If you want what we have to offer, and are willing to make the effort to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps. These are the principles that made our recovery possible.
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Step 11: 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.
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 sounds like a big order, and we can’t do it all at once. We didn’t become addicted in one day, so remember—easy does it.
There is one thing more than anything else that will defeat us in our recovery; this is an attitude of indifference or intolerance toward spiritual principles. Three of these that are indispensable are honesty, openmindedness, and willingness. With these we are well on our way.
We feel that our approach to the disease of addiction is completely realistic, for the therapeutic value of one addict helping another is without parallel. We feel that our way is practical, for one addict can best understand and help another addict. We believe that the sooner we face our problems within our society, in everyday living, just that much faster do we become acceptable, responsible, and productive members of that society.
The only way to keep from returning to active addiction is not to take that first drug. If you are like us you know that one is too many and a thousand never enough. We put great emphasis on this, for we know that when we use drugs in any form, or substitute one for another, we release our addiction all over again.
Thinking of alcohol as different from other drugs has caused a great many addicts to relapse. Before we came to NA, many of us viewed alcohol separately, but we cannot afford to be confused about this. Alcohol is a drug. We are people with the disease of addiction who must abstain from all drugs in order to recover.
The 12 Traditions Of Narcotics Anonymous
We keep what we have only with vigilance, and just as freedom for the individual comes from the Twelve Steps, so freedom for the group springs from our Traditions.
As long as the ties that bind us together are stronger than those that would tear us apart, all will be well.
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon N.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for N.A. membership is a desire to stop using.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or N.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the addict who still suffers.
6. An N.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the N.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every N.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Narcotics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. N.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Narcotics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the N.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Understanding these Traditions comes slowly over a period of time. We pick up information as we talk to members and visit various groups. It usually isn’t until we get involved with service that someone points out that “personal recovery depends on NA unity,” and that unity depends on how well we follow our Traditions. The Twelve Traditions of NA are not negotiable. They are the guidelines that keep our Fellowship alive and free. By following these guidelines in our dealings with others, and society at large, we avoid many problems. That is not to say that our Traditions eliminate all problems. We still have to face difficulties as they arise: communication problems, differences of opinion, internal controversies, and troubles with individuals and groups outside the Fellowship. However, when we apply these principles, we avoid some of the pitfalls. Many of our problems are like those that our predecessors had to face. Their hard-won experience gave birth to the Traditions, and our own experience has shown that these principles are just as valid today as they were when these Traditions were formulated. Our Traditions protect us from the internal and external forces that could destroy us. They are truly the ties that bind us together. It is only through understanding and application that they work.
NA Meetings In Costa Rica
Local meetings are frequently held in certain areas of Costa Rica, but also with changing locations, depending on the time and place necessary. Please contact us directly and we’ll gladly help to find the perfect fit for you.
The list of current meetings is available below.
Spanish-speaking groups can be found under this link to a document listing all groups in all areas.
Local AA Activities
Below is a small calendar snippet showing planned daily activities. There are several more available. Don’t hesitate to contact us directly for more information. Every activity is clickable in case you need more information.
For Spanish-speaking events, a calendar can be found here.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP!
Don’t hesitate to contact us for any further help or information through you preferred channel of communication. Text us on WhatsApp, call us directly for free, or reach out via email.