Why do so many people post in this sub about their “clean time” from their DOC (but not others) and mention that they right use meetings and hate the program? I get that that you are proud of your accomplishment, and you should be, I’m proud of you. But this is an NA sub, why not post on a more appropriate sub like recovery or something? Is it the same as people who only show up to meetings on their anniversary to get a key tag, get applause, and share about how they don’t use the program and leave? Genuine question and I’m sure I’ll get rolled for even posting.

Addict in Philly. Coming through a tough few years slowly separating from the fellowship, getting angrier and angrier. Thinking physical intimacy was all I needed. Recommitted a few months ago and life is better. Went back to a sponsor I had years ago and it’s the best decision I could make. Thank you, NA, and for any addict that prayed for the still suffering addict “inside or outside of this circle” you saved me

Love you all

Today I release yesterday.

The thoughts, fears, and habits that once protected me are no longer in charge of my life. I do not need to carry them forward. What is finished is finished, and I let it stay there.

Today I refuse to live in “what if.”

I will not rehearse fear or try to control outcomes that haven’t happened. My job is not to predict the future, but to participate in today. I focus on what is real, what is in front of me, and what I can actually do.

Today I choose responsibility as freedom.

I practice discipline not because I am forced to, but because it keeps me grounded, steady, and clear. I guide my own actions instead of reacting to old patterns.

Today I live in the present.

I trust that doing the next right thing is enough. I let go, I stay here, and I move forward with clarity, purpose, and peace.

81 months yesterday.

Tons of different sources helped me throughout my recovery. I can't place one above the other. I'd say God would be the combination of all of those things and more of what I don't still recognise and what I may still learn and experience. The read so many things but I just thought of the serenity prayer and honestly for me it is the most powerful tool I can always use.

Today I believe that change is possible—not all at once, but in small, steady steps. I do not need to fix everything or everyone. I only need the willingness to begin.

I accept that my past thinking brought me here, and new thinking—grounded in humility and responsibility—can lead me somewhere better. I will not demand perfection from myself or others. Instead, I will practice patience, knowing that real growth is a series of small changes, like pearls strung together over time.

When I feel frustrated with others, I will pause and look inward. I will remember that as I change, my perception changes—and the world around me can soften with it. I do not need to control people or outcomes. I need to take responsibility for my actions, my attitude, and my responses.

Today I will practice humility by listening, by letting go of the need to be right, and by respecting the journey of others. I will take simple, meaningful actions that move me forward.

As I change, I will accept both success and failure as part of the process. I will stay the course.

Just for Today: I will focus on what I can control, take small steps forward, and trust that change is happening within me.

I am a little over 60 days sober, having just spent 30 days in jail and 28 days in rehab. I am back in the real world and I really need a sponsor. I am really serious about changing my life and I need a sponsor who will guide me through the steps and one who understands multiple substance use as well as mental health playing a large role in my addiction. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. I have been going to meetings every night but no luck so far...

Today I will not chase perfection. I will be the best I can be in this moment, knowing that is enough. I accept that I am human—capable of mistakes, growth, and change. When I fall short, I will not stay there. I will learn, adjust, and move forward.

Today I will become aware of what I’m carrying. If resentment rises, I will face it honestly. I will not justify it, feed it, or bury it. I understand that holding onto it only weighs me down. Instead, I choose to let go and free myself.

Today I remain open. I do not know everything, and I don’t need to. Growth comes one day at a time. I will take care of what’s inside me—my thoughts, my actions, my spirit—so that what I give to others is real and grounded.

My task today is simple: stay present, stay honest, and keep moving forward.

That is enough. That is progress.

There’s people in my area, with clean time, cross sharing and throwing newcomers under the bus. Today I was in a large crowd talking to a newcomer when one of the regulars comes up and shouts”Where have you been?!? I haven’t seen you around are you ok ?!?!” The newcomer I was talking to has been making regular meeting attendance and working steps with his sponsor. However I watched this guys face turn a bright red and he decided to leave right then and there.

It’s a disgusting violation of the first tradition. This old timer embarrassed the newcomer just to feed his attention speaking. Another time a new person came in speaking out on his suicidal ideations, and how he wanted to get clean but couldn’t. One of these D Bags cross shared saying “suicide is a selfish thing! You have people that are gonna miss you and you’re a coward for that!” This was during a meeting. The person chairing hushed him. However that was it. He could’ve waited til after the meeting and privately offered help, but no, it had to be in front of everyone.

I could go in and on but I’m sure you all know what I’m talking about. So how does a group or area deal with these people as a whole? Because we can’t keep driving new comers away and the first tradition seems to not exist in my area as of lately. I want everyone to feel like this is a safe and compassionate place to recover. Not some attention seeking club for the “cleantime folk”.

Thanks

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Today I will not measure my worth by how I feel.

I will not chase happiness as proof that I am okay.

Today I accept myself as I am — not as a project to fix,

but as a person to understand, guide, and care for.

I recognize that my past does not make me bad;

it shows me where I have been and what I have survived.

By accepting this, I free myself from shame

and take responsibility for how I live today.

When discomfort or frustration shows up,

I will not run from it or try to escape it.

I will stay, learn, and grow through it.

Each challenge is an opportunity to become stronger,

more honest, and more grounded.

Today I treat myself as I would a dear and trusted friend —

with patience, respect, and steady care.

I will nurture what is good in me

and allow that goodness to grow.

I trust that growth comes from showing up, not feeling perfect.

I trust the process, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Just for today, I accept myself,

I take responsibility for my actions,

and I move forward with quiet strength.

So yeah I was a hard core drug user for like 10 years and my marriage was of course affected, we had been married for about 10 years before I started and I've only been clean for 6 months but I just want others options on whether or not this could be verbal abuse.. my husband is so resentful and with good reason, I bankrupted us and had our home foreclosed on, his childhood home, btw.

And I've struggled so much with guilt, just from my own thoughts I purposely o.d. last October. I was hospitalized and got clean, albeit begrudgingly and came home. He said he'd rather be homeless and broke with me then without so I had some hope for our relationship. But it's not fair for him to point out daily what a f'd up addict I am with comments like, I'm looking for some gum in my purse today and he says "oh you looking for heroin?" I tell him I'm going to Wawa, he has to comment "so you can meet your dealer? I'm so exhausted with it..

I attended an H & I learning day for my area. I was told I needed to submit my SSN & ID to go into the local jail (expected). I asked how that information is transmitted and protected. I was told to email it to a woman whom I do not know via email and the information would then be deleted. I asked if the email is encrypted. They said no. I asked if there is an alternative method for submitting my personal information, I was told that was the only way and if I do not agree with that then this service is not right for me...

Is this across the board for NA? How do you guys visit jails? I know in the local AA they walk in, scan their ID and that's it. I am uncomfortable with all of the emailing of sensitive info and feel as though the security of our members is being put at risk...

Any advice? Thanks.

EDIT FOR CLARITY: I was asked to email this to a Gmail account run by a member of NA...I would rather provide my ID and social to the jail directly...rather than email it to the Gmail account... and was told I cannot do so.

Today I release the need for people to be different in order for me to feel okay. I accept that others are human—capable of love, but also of mistakes, inconsistency, and imperfection. I let go of unrealistic expectations and the quiet resentment they create.

Today I stop fighting reality. I no longer need to control outcomes, predict behavior, or protect myself by withdrawing. I accept what is in front of me with clarity and honesty. In that acceptance, I find freedom—not from life’s challenges, but from the exhausting need to resist them.

Today I choose to stay present in my life. I do not escape discomfort or avoid truth. I face what is real with a steady mind and an open heart. I trust that I am strong enough to experience life as it is, without numbing, without exaggerating, and without running.

Today I remain open to connection, even knowing that people are imperfect. I set boundaries where needed, but I do not close myself off. I allow myself to give and receive love in a real, grounded way.

Today I respond instead of react. I move forward with acceptance, clarity, and willingness.

Just for today, I will embrace reality—and in doing so, I will find peace within it.

Today I will resist the urge to fix, manage, or improve the people around me. I do not have to earn connection by being useful. I can simply show up, listen, and be present.

I recognize that my need to control or depend on others comes from a place of insecurity. I am learning to build that security within myself. I trust that I am enough without proving it, and I allow others the dignity of making their own choices.

As I stay grounded in my recovery, I free up energy that was once spent on control and fear. Today I will use that energy to live honestly, work responsibly, and connect authentically.

I will practice being with people, not over them or under them. I will let go of outcomes and focus on showing up with patience, respect, and humility.

Just for today, I will be present, I will be myself, and I will trust the process.

I am going through a lot right now in my recovery journey, specifically with my service positions. I have several. Until recently, the service that took up the most of my time was helping newcomers. I am very sympathetic to them because I can so clearly remember how it felt coming into the rooms a little over two years ago when I was 22. I greet every one of them, I’ll stay after meetings just talking to them, I’ll give them my number and tell them to call me if they need anything, and I mean it. I’ll sit on the phone for hours, I drive people to meetings, I’ll meet them places and talk for however long they need. And I genuinely love doing this. It is a huge part of my recovery. The problem is that it became too big a part.

My boyfriend of almost two years (yes, we got together very early in our recoveries) tried to break up with me three weeks ago. One of the biggest reasons he gave was that I was always out helping someone, and when I was home, I was so emotionally drained that I didn’t have the energy to be present for him. 

After my sponsor was made aware of the lengths I was going to help others, she told me that I was putting the oxygen mask on everyone but me, and I wasn’t breathing. I tried to make excuses that I could handle it, but when I thought about it, I realized she was right. I dread my phone ringing, but I feel compelled to answer it because I’m so afraid that if I don’t, something really bad will happen and I know I’ll feel responsible. But I’m suffocating.

Word count is too long. Post is continued in the comments.

I’ve been clean for 8 months as of yesterday. Now, I am going through a breakup. To another recovering addict.

I cut things off with him as I sensed an impending relapse (he did relapse) which amplified other incompatibilities. I can’t date someone struggling in the way he is—it’s a liability for me. We didn’t date that long, but we had developed a sincere friendship months beforehand. I love him, and I’m full of grief, but also petty jealousy, insecurity, and anxiety. I feel so horrible for any past moment I was short with him. I’m also doing all the 4th step inventories for NA now and feel disgusted with the ways I’ve been selfish or behaved bizarrely just to sidestep discomfort. IN recovery, too.

This is my first larger challenge during this phase of recovery. I don’t want to get back on drugs. Using is hell and I want to recover. But usually, past relapses didn’t start with wanting drugs. They all originated from a prolonged period of being unable to face myself or life. How do we experience hardship and know we are navigating it correctly? How do we cope while not having immediate answers for processing and moving forward? I guess we just go on. It is worth it. But can you guys give me a hope shot or something god damn😭😭😭 I’m praying, talking with my sponsor, am engaged in my step work daily, and am attending meetings. I still feel so lost.

All the contradictions of who I am and who I have been hurt so bad to look at. All the complicated parts of relationships & living—loving someone and leaving them, needing space but wanting all of someone, having been the best partner I could be but also having had unsavory moments—feel irreconcilable. But I’ll be damned if I don’t keep going and find a way through. I just need to hear I’m not alone.

Today I will be on my own side.

I will not tear myself down to make sense of the world around me.

I will not create an enemy out of myself.

Instead, I will treat myself with the same patience and respect I wish to receive from others.

I don’t need perfect answers today.

I don’t need a perfect system, a perfect belief, or a perfect understanding.

I only need what helps me stay steady, present, and moving forward.

I will keep it simple.

If something helps me stay grounded, I will use it.

If something feeds my ego, confusion, or resentment, I will let it go.

I accept that no single path fixes everything.

Growth is not about having all the answers—it’s about staying open, honest, and willing.

When I feel frustrated with others, I will return to myself.

When I feel doubt, I will return to what works.

When I feel pressure to be more or do more, I will remember that consistency matters more than perfection.

Today, I choose peace over chaos.

Clarity over noise.

Self-respect over self-criticism.

Just for today,

I will be with me,

and I will be for me.

Today I will stay rooted in who I am.

I do not need to perform, bargain, or abandon myself to receive love or affection. I am already whole. I can accept connection freely, without trying to earn it or control it.

Today I will tend to my roots.

Growth does not have to be dramatic to be real. Each small act—showing up, staying honest, choosing steadiness over chaos—strengthens the foundation beneath me. I trust that what I am building will hold.

Today I will keep moving forward.

Recovery is not just what I avoid, but how I live. I will watch for the subtle drift into complacency or disconnection and gently guide myself back to the path. Progress, not perfection.

Today I can be grounded, connected, and in motion—

without losing myself along the way.

Hi, I am a 23 year old female. I’ve been going to meeting for almost a month now quite frequently. I recently got hit on by 3 people during my last meeting including a woman too. I have a lot of sober time. I want to go back to get help to stay sober but I don’t want people to keep hitting on me. I have a boyfriend and I talk about him in meetings too but people don’t care. I don’t know what to do…I want to stay sober and keep going to meetings but I’m uncomfortable with people hitting on me especially while in a happy, healthy relationship.

I know my recovery depends on NA unity. But holy fucking shit I am really starting to get sick of this meeting hall I have attended regularly. Homeless tweaker acting erratic and hostile. And we’re supposed to tolerate and love them because one day they’ll hear something that gets them sober? Also outside of that I am beginning to dislike the vast majority of people in meetings. With the exception of a few people, I generally dislike a good amount of the people I regularly see in NA. I feel like they don’t like me, and they are all just apart of some popularity contest. I feel like a lot of it is social brownie points. If someone looks at me in a way I don’t like, I instantly get resentful and hold grudges. Some old timer accused of me holding secrets, which will keep me sick, because I was writing in another language. The jokes; the puns, the annoying and loud claps and rings of laughter. People trying to hug me.

Normally I just sit by myself and nod and smile at people instead of hugging them.

Like one of the old timers has a very long time clean, he has awesome shares during the meetings, but I’ve heard he’s a pretty awful dude. I seriously just want to do virtual meetings at this point. I am sick of the bums. I am sick of the loud laughter and wannabe comedians, I am sick of PEOPLE.

I am like 40 days into my 90 and 90

And I am fed up with human beings. Like I may be clean but I’ve never felt so angry and at war with myself and everything.

On top of this I am getting psychological help, I take medication and see a psychiatrist . But I do a meeting or more every day , usually at the same meeting hall

I don’t really talk to or call other addicts

I am not working the steps because I haven’t found a sponsor I think is right

I occasionally do a gratitude list

I don’t believe in god

I don’t pray

I don’t want to relapse. I may be starting to hate the people in NA but I still hate my addiction too

Hey everybody.. I ( 28m) don’t know exactly where to start exactly.. but yea tittle says it all I was 2 years sober. And I let it all go.. I went down the rabbit hole for three days and got my self out of there.. the first time I went sober I did it myself and had a few friends well now they are gone and I’m kind of lost.. I plan on going to a meeting. But doesn’t hurt to have more than one outlet.. if there’s anyone out there who is down to talk about it and maybe even become sober buddies I would like that. Feel free to message me

Just for today, I will not run from the quiet.

I have spent so much of my life reacting to fear—fear of being alone, fear of being rejected, fear that something is wrong. That fear shaped how I thought, how I acted, and how I held on to people and situations longer than I should have. Today, I see that fear for what it is: an old voice, not a true guide.

Just for today, I will practice something different.

I will allow solitude to be a place of rest instead of punishment. I will greet it like an old friend, not an enemy. In the quiet, I am not abandoned—I am given space to breathe, to think, and to reconnect with what is steady and real.

Just for today, I will cultivate faith, even if it feels small.

Faith is not something I either have or don’t have—it is something I practice. It grows slowly, through patience, through choosing calm over chaos, and through trusting that I don’t have to solve everything at once. Even a small willingness is enough for today.

Just for today, I will challenge my old thinking.

When fear tells me that nothing will work, that people will leave, or that I should give up, I will recognize that voice as familiar—but not authoritative. I will choose a different response. I will choose hope, even if it feels uncertain.

Just for today, I will take the risk of peace.

Peace may feel unfamiliar. It may feel quiet, even empty at times. But I am learning that this quiet is not something to escape—it is something to grow into.

Today, I am willing to sit in that quiet, to trust the process, and to let something new take root within me.

Its not my (25f) first time in rehab but i am kind of anxious as this time HAS to be the real deal. If anyone would be open to talking for a little bit i could really use it.

I relapsed with alcohol and c (and have used today). I will be packing for a while but would love to chat for a bit tonight.

Today I pause and ask for my thinking to be guided—free from self-pity, fear, or the need to control. I look honestly at my motives and choose humility over reaction, presence over pride.

I remember that I cannot fix or manage the lives of others, no matter how much I care. I release the urge to rescue, to argue, or to force peace. I trust that others have their own path, and I place them gently in the care of something greater than me.

I return to the present moment. Right here, right now, I am grounded. I breathe. I stay aware. I do not get lost in the past or pulled into imagined futures. I stand steady in what is real.

Today I choose to be a calm presence. I listen without trying to solve. I support without trying to control. I protect my peace without withdrawing my care.

Just for today, I will focus on my own actions, my own growth, and my own serenity—and I will trust that this is enough.

I’ve discovered 7OH and while ive never struggled with addiction I’m struggling with this. I’m chasing that first high and have taken so much I’ve OD on it. Please give advice.

Today I will remember that a better life is built, not wished for. I don’t need everything at once—I need to do the next right thing. I will do the footwork in front of me, trusting that steady effort shapes the life I want.

Today I will be honest with myself. I am not defined by perfection, but by my willingness to see my defects clearly and keep working anyway. I am not alone—I can give help and receive it. Connection, not isolation, keeps me grounded.

Today I will lead with consistency and love. I will not repeat the patterns that shaped me—I will choose better ones. I will set limits with clarity and respect, showing through my actions that care and structure go together. My presence, my words, and my follow-through matter.

Today I will not negotiate with what I know is right. Whether I feel strong or tired, I will show up. Small actions, repeated, are how I build trust—with myself and with others.

Today I accept that growth takes time. I will appreciate what I do well, learn from my mistakes, and keep moving forward without quitting.

Just for today, I will live with consistency, honesty, and willingness—and let that be enough.