GBR (Gray Book Reflection)
Input and review material
5/25
“Relapse is never an accident. Our knowledge of addiction is not enough to stop us from using.”
Gray Book, p. 124
Lines 34-35
Chapter Seven
Relapse is never an accident, and it’s not part of recovery. To relapse is to die, therefore it is part of the disease. The continuing process of relapse is ongoing even through abstinence. Our Basic Text says that we never fully recover no matter how long we’ve been clean. Addiction is progressive and fatal and can only be arrested each day. Although knowledge is essential in the recovery process, it’s not a substitute for surrender. The same way doctors practice medicine, and lawyers practice law, we as addicts must practice spiritual principles. Our literature says that relapse is never an accident, it’s a sign that we had a reservation in our program which left loopholes in our daily lives. Our program stops when we don’t attend meetings or stop getting involved in Narcotics Anonymous. The relapse process begins before we actually use drugs. We get high at the end of the relapse,
not the beginning of it. The relapse process begins with our spiritual decay. Just like food decays when the refrigerator is unplugged, everything seems fine at first. However, the decay process already started. Sometimes this process is unbeknownst to us. Usually, our fellow members remind us that we haven’t attended meetings in a while. Our sponsors or our home group members may call us on our attitude and behavior. We are each other’s eyes and ears, so it’s important to stay visible or at least connected. Working with others is a solution that enables us to keep what we have. Surrendering to the principle of honesty in the First Step can keep us in the basics of the program. If we don’t use what we’ve learned in Narcotics Anonymous, we will lose it in a relapse. Spiritual maintenance means ongoing recovery.
In this moment: Our best guarantee against relapse, is living the spiritual principles of Narcotics Anonymous.

Relapse is never an accident, and it’s not part of recovery