Overall support, painful irony and sit-down comedy
10minutes late. No-one would be bothered. The young leader girl is reading the rules aloud. We take a seat. A handsome man with red bushy beard is offering tea and sweets. Everyone is well-dressed and the majority is well-mannered. Discussing world issues and medicine, bringing up the names of drugs is prohibited.
Unwonted peace and quiet. The newcomers are telling their names. Unlike in films, members do not have to pronounce neither their age nor drug-free period. They tell only what they want to tell. Questions are misplaced.
It is the first meeting after self-isolation. Locked down due to Covid, members still had their connection. Via Zoom. Most of the meetings currently switched online.
Even though most of us saw Narcotics Anonymous only in films, it is a massive community with bunches of tiny groups located at every other street, accessible worldwide. In this city you may join 5-6 meetings throughout a day all year round. If you are abroad, you may find groups that speak your native tongue right there.
Most of the group were men, a young couple and a woman with a kid waiting her in a corridor with headphones put up and an engaging game stood out. There was also a young girl in a black mask that said nothing.
“It is not the illness of addiction, it is the illness of our minds, everyday something random recalls me my illness.”
They were obviously of different social classes. One of them was wearing Armani and golden watches, confessing as if he was performing a new bitter black stand up. Another would just chew several candies the entire meeting.
Their life fragments cut to the quick. They were sharing their bad dreams caused by deep cravings for falling back into their illness, mocking at their irrationalities, their lies to themselves, their luckily bygone desperate situation. Some listeners may laugh, others are floating in their own thoughts.
The member is celebrating his anniversary of freedom today. He gets his medal filled with energy and others` best wishes for that heroic deed. Another rejoices that his bad dream of cravings end up with precious refusal to buy stuff.
“I am glad I survived this week to rejoin y`all”
Once the meeting is over, everyone is having small talk outside. Here, one may mention their past object of abuse and dictate their phone number in case they would be of any help.
Only in the street our reporter is asked directly whether he is addicted. He confesses that he is not addicted, but he is lucky to explore NA community, because a net of independent societies brings up hope to get welcomed and cured.
Despite his withholding, he is not denied. Apart from him, there are other non-addicted people. A girl in a black mask turns to be a single time user got afraid by side effects. There was not a young couple of two addicted people, but a couple of a dependent and co-dependent.
NA would welcome anyone concerned or affected by drug addiction.
The second sneaking was into a twice as large group. Our reporter observed some lexical features of the speeches.
The majority of members introduced themselves as “a narc”, the others preferred to identify themselves as “an addict”, and the only person named himself “a drug addict”. When talking face to face with their “brothers anonymous” they favor the word “a recovering” over other terms.
nuteater 