What is Complacency?
Complacency is used seven times in the Gray Book of Narcotics Anonymous. In the Fifth Edition of the Basic Text (Published by the NAWS Corporation), the word is used five times, and ‘complacent’ is used twice. The literature in Narcotics Anonymous alludes to the dangers of complacency but never clearly defines the meaning. I associated complacency with being lazy until I researched this article. A sponsor of mine pointed out the importance of a good dictionary and how I should not make assumptions about the meaning of words.
Complacency – noun. a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements.
Complacent – adjective. pleased, especially with oneself or one’s merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied.
Oxford Languages. Oxford University Press.
As I approach my twenty-first-year celebration of recovery in Narcotics Anonymous and I cannot help but notice how complacent I can become. ‘Complacency is the enemy of members with substantial clean time’ is a quote from the Narcotics Anonymous literature. The following quote was even more significant for me.
Complacency does not go with recovery. The deadly and insidious nature of our disease can disguise itself as boredom or superiority and generate the old “apart from” feelings. Separation from the atmosphere of recovery and the spirit of service to others slows our spiritual growth and can threaten relapse. This book is not the final answer to addiction. The Spirit of our Fellowship is constantly leading us into new awareness. Recovery is a journey, not a goal.
Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, 2nd Edition, Chapter 10, “More Will Be Revealed”
Clean Time Complacency
My disease is the disease of isolation. Addiction has wide, deep roots and vigilance is required. Nothing seems to isolate me more than a feeling of superiority. Today I can find myself seeking relationships that mimic unity but really are a cloak that can obscure my vision and blind me to reality. I surround myself with like-minded people and avoid the conflict that true unity provides. People with clean time greet others with time and sit together at meetings. We admire each other’s lifestyles and I see my recovery as attractive to newcomers.
Hubris and Oppression
Hubris is when I develop a sense of excessive pride, and self-importance. Oppression is a burden I place on others to conform. My disease tells me I have accomplished something by staying clean and I begin to deny the miracle. The literature says we meet regularly to ‘help each other’ but addiction offers ‘helping myself’. A little recovery has been good for me, so a lot of recovery becomes a drug. Tradition three says the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using. The desire to stop using ends for some members when they are clean. I find it very easy to return to using. My defects and shortcomings become a distraction. Gatherings of members become a smorgasbord of distractions. You can spend weekends traveling to conventions, listening to powerful speakers. Members gather and dine together, plan outings or vacations, talking about how fortunate they are. A select few newcomers are invited into the cliques if they pair well or contribute to the complacent atmosphere in some meaningful way. The disease of addiction will always find a way to create isolation. We stop acknowledging the miracle and I start promoting my new way of life. Gratitude becomes hubris and unity becomes oppression.
Common Welfare ahead of Personal Recovery
Tradition One of Narcotics Anonymous says that ‘Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on unity’. My complacency comes with a price. I sell my responsibilities and always spend the proceeds selfishly. Complacency offers judgement rather than inventory when my needs are ahead of the common welfare of the group. Other members step up and attend business meetings for the home group so I do not. I accept the lies that my voice is not needed, or that those members who do attend are doing a fine job. Addiction might suggest that Home Group business meetings are so toxic that I have no voice or I simply lose interest out of bordom.
Our Primary Purpose
The Twelfth Step of our personal program also says that we should carry the message to the addict who still suffers. This is no coincidence. Working with others is one of our most powerful tools. “The therapeutic value of one addict helping another is unparalleled.” For the newcomer this is how they find out about N.A. and how they stay clean; and for the members this reaffirms and clarifies what they have learned. The group is the most perfect vehicle we have for carrying the message to the addict who still suffers. When a member carries the message, he is somewhat bound by his interpretation and personality. The problem with literature is language; the feelings, the intensity, and the strengths are sometimes lost. In our groups, with all personalities, the message is a recurring theme; an underlying reality.
Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text, 2nd Edition, Tradition Five “Our primary purpose is to carry the message to the addict who still suffers.”
Service structures were once thought to be outside the Fellowship of Narcotics Anonymous, but complacency changed that. These outside entities can become dominated by members so entrenched in complacency that healthy members cannot breathe. The same addicts return month after month, and year after year never considering that they are the source of the problem. A pitiful minority of members support the World Service Conference, and the NAWS Corporation. Literature prices have become so inflated and support the complacency of those members addicted to manipulation, control, and prestige. Addicts who are actively using have no choice but to continue to use until they have a desire to stop. Such is the nature of the disease. Ultimately the anonymity of the individual and the Group is what carries the message when the primary purpose is put ahead of personal recovery.