Uma nova maneira de viver: Trocas simbólicas e mecanismos de subjetivação na irmandade de Narcóticos Anônimos

Abstract

This is a survey about the brotherhood of Narcotics Anonymous in the city of Rio de Janeiro. We sought to discuss the constitutive aspects of such an association and the affiliation of new members, known as the “membership process”. Such a process presupposes the incorporation of a new set of references, schemes of action and perception that, at first, can be understood as a ritual of "religious conversion." However, we realize that in the constitution of the association there is a mixture of traditional and religious elements, where the sense of “belonging” seems to operate as a catalyst for trauma, as well as contributing to the process of (re) construction of “awakened” social identities of Modernity. Through a qualitative analysis, we seek to identify and understand how members saw themselves in this process. In this sense, we undertook a series of interviews, digital questionnaires and developed field work in a specific group from the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. As a result, we find a strong complexity in members' perceptions of themselves, often merging the various elements that make up the “recovery program”. The way members perceive themselves, therefore, is strongly anchored in the notion of group, which operates through its own narrative, as a factor of resignification of trauma caused by drug abuse.