I Got My Daughter Back
Depression and addiction often go hand in hand. Many who struggle with addiction are also battling other demons. Demons, they didn’t even know existed.
When someone gets mixed up in the world of drugs, they can start to go down a dark and scary path. Doing things they’d told themselves they would never do. Or see things only seen or heard about in movies or on the internet. Someone can lose themself without even realizing it.
Look in the mirror. You were, maybe, at some point, a happy, carefree little girl. Now you are a full-blown addict willing to hurt anyone, hell, even her family, to get whatever she wants. How does someone get to this point? You’re not the only one who asks and wonders these things.
A parent of one of our graduates tells his story of how his daughter was loving and sweet as a child until one day things took a turn.
“My daughter was intelligent, loving, and happy growing up. She was stubborn but always seemed to be a happy child. Her mother and I adopted her at nine months old from Russia, and we were always forthcoming about her adoption. Although she had her ups and downs, there seemed to be more ups than downs.
“She enjoyed riding horses and dancing, and we traveled a lot as a family. She was always able to adapt to any situation. She was brilliant and involved with church and extracurricular activities. I thought she had a normal childhood. It wasn’t until she went into the third grade that she started having problems with her teacher. I then got a new job and worked to make sure she had every opportunity she wanted. From there, she went on to middle school, and that’s when things started to shift in her.
“The kids in her middle school were like any others, ruthless. Any issues she brought up seemed like average middle school drama. Then she went to high school. The first few years of high school, she did okay, although she started to hang out with the wrong crowd. But it wasn’t until she got older that things took a turn. My daughter went from telling me everything about her day to being a recluse in her room. She was hiding things from her mother and me and soon became someone neither of us recognized.
“She started dating an abusive guy. He not only psychologically abused her but was physically abusive towards her as well. I always wondered how she endured it. She was never the same after that relationship. As a result, she was often irate. She was either pissed off at her mother and me or angry at nothing. It wasn’t rational or normal. My happy little girl was now angry, irrational, and a shell of the person she once was. She became even more reserved and avoided her mother, and I like the plague. She would only come around when she needed money. One day, my wife and I were tired of giving her money. She had a job; why did she constantly need money? She then told us she was coming off cocaine and needed more. That was one of the scariest moments, knowing she was slowly killing herself to try to forget all she’d been through.
“My wife and I were shocked but knew we had to do something. We had already sent her to therapy, but that wasn’t working. The decision then became apparent. We had to get her into rehab. Her mother and I confronted her and gave her two choices: go to rehab or live in her car. We weren’t enabling her anymore and would not tolerate her behavior. We found a rehab for her in California, and I went with her to ensure she got there and didn’t run off. I feared she would go to the airport and never get to treatment. The hardest part was when she would call us crying, begging us to come home. I knew I couldn’t do it for her sake. I wanted her to have the best opportunity of staying clean. It hurt, but I knew it was best for her.
“It’s hard to be tough with someone you love so much. You lose sleep worrying about them. When she was in California, I knew she was safe and wouldn’t kill herself or someone else. But when she got home, she went right back to drinking. She hid it for a while until one day, I took her with me when I treated my sister to a birthday lunch, and it became apparent how bad it was. I knew it was time to get her back into treatment. This time, I let her choose the program. She chose Narconon, Louisiana, which was the best thing to happen.
“No one needs alcohol or drugs to make life better.”
“Thanks to Narconon, I have my daughter back. She is now doing fantastically well, and her confidence has grown by leaps and bounds. She now stresses being perfect at whatever she is doing, whereas before, she didn’t care about anything. I’m very proud of her and can’t wait to see where life takes her. I want her to know she can live a much fuller life sober. No one needs alcohol or drugs to make life better.”
F.S. Narconon Graduate’s Father
When someone struggles with addiction, they lose themselves and become a shell of the person they once were. They may not realize how much they have changed and how noticeable it can be to another person. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction and have lost yourself, know you can find yourself again. Reach out for help and start your journey to finding yourself and your sobriety.
