I Went From Broken To Better Than Ever
I will start by saying that going to Narconon has been the most important thing I have ever done in my life. More change has occurred within me over the last three months than I have ever thought possible. I came into the program with a broken heart, a broken body, and a broken mind that had a twisted view of reality. The one thing I did know throughout was that I needed to change.
My addiction led my life into a miserable existence that was no longer a game I wanted to play. I had destroyed most of the good things I had worked so hard to create for myself. When the opportunity arose for me to turn my life around, I jumped on it.
However, this time, I wasn’t going to be doing it alone like I had tried to do so many times before. This time, I was going to have a wonderful group of people around me. They had been through or were going through the same battle. One of my favorite parts about Narconon is many of the staff have gone through the program and walked the same lonely road of addiction that I had.
As an addict, you feel like it's you against the world, and that isolation often leads you to cope with it the only way you really know how—with more drug use. Everyone at Narconon understood that. I could not have done this without every single one of them, both students and staff. This has got to be the most unique cast of characters I think I will ever meet, and I'll always remember the constant laughter of this group of people!
It is an incredible program. You begin with the harsh reality of withdrawal but to the student going through it, stay strong because life will be so much easier. The symptoms may not seem fleeting at that moment, but they are temporary and will eventually seem like a distant memory.
The process that follows is incredibly rewarding, and that is the New Life Detoxification. Through a little exercise, sweating, and nutrition, you will feel the best you have ever had, like you felt when you were a kid. I remember somewhere near the end of the sauna, I began to feel like a different person. Every time I listened to music, it would send shockwaves of dopamine through my body, and the chills would follow.
Sauna can also be very taxing on the body, and sometimes it feels like a grind and not always a walk in the park, but take it one day at a time, and it will pay off. As one of the staff mentioned to us in sauna one day, “Keep fighting the good fight,” so I did. Remember that your depth of feeling goes both ways. Your capacity for despair is also your capacity for happiness, and when you can turn your life around and address your issues, that happiness will come.
We've all been through the worst life has to offer, so it's about time we start going in the other direction. That’s what the next parts of the program are actually about—spotting and fixing the parts of your life that led you to solve your issues by using drugs. The Objectives Course helps you to confront things and see them for what they are rather than being triggered by them. This prepares you for the life skills course which was hands down my favorite part of the program.
Everything else just leads up to the point where you take a step back and learn to understand why you made the mistakes you did. What relationships in your life affected you to think and react the way you do? You will have to find your responsibility in all of your actions though, especially the harmful ones. This can be daunting for people, but when you see what you’re in control of, you can prevent many of these situations from ever having to happen in the first place. My advice to everyone here is to take this seriously. No one can do this program for you or make you change.
“Look at what you can do daily to improve yourself. When, if ever will you have three months to do nothing but reflect on how you can make your life and those around you better.”
Look at what you can do daily to improve yourself. When, if ever, will you have three months to do nothing but reflect on how you can make your life and those around you better? What can you do that will make you feel better about yourself, no matter how small? Any progress is progress, and everyone is different, but know that you are so much more than just an addict. That is but a shadow of what you are—someone that you can be proud of and love because you all deserve it.
J.M. Narconon Graduate
