I’ve Changed for the Better

 

Coming into withdrawal, I was uncomfortable. I missed my wife, and I honestly missed the drugs. However, as the days went on, I was able to have a clearer mind after the withdrawal symptoms left. The drills I did helped settle me down and calm my mind; some helped me fall asleep. In addition, the different exercises helped ease the pains I had from withdrawing. At first, I wanted to leave, but I pushed through. The withdrawal was tough and a challenge, but I got through it, and that’s a win in itself.

At the start of sauna, I didn’t understand the process and didn’t think it would work for me. But, as time went on, I started to see changes in various ways. One of them is that I used to have problems getting to sleep before, but thanks to sauna, I have no trouble falling asleep. For what seems like my whole life, I’ve always had negative thoughts and never knew how to get through them. Now those thoughts rarely come up; if they do, I have the tools to get through them. Sauna also helped my anxiety; I feel the best I have in years. It helped me in more ways than I thought possible.

“I feel the best I have in years. It helped me in more ways than I thought possible.”

After completing sauna, I went on to Objectives. Objectives took a lot of work. At first, I didn’t understand it all, but I understood its purpose once I got the hang of it. Over time I felt my mood improve, my patience shot through the roof, and things all around improved. I gained skills like just staying on task until the job was complete. Finally, I could get out of my head and focus on the task before me. I feel like I can now work better as a team, thanks to my twin, who helped me get through this process. Together we made the most of it and got through challenging situations together. Objectives helped me in ways I never thought could be touched. I’m grateful for this opportunity given to me, and I’m going to continue using the tools I learned here.

Now it was on to the hard part, life skills. The Ups and Downs in Life course is exactly how it sounds. But I know my life will now have more ups than downs in the future. It wasn’t easy, but sometimes life isn’t rainbows and butterflies. But I’m proud of myself for taking control of my life and doing what benefits my loved ones and me. The Ups and Downs in Life course let me handle situations I probably would never have handled. Not only that, but it helped teach me how to handle different situations in the future and do it responsibly.

The Personal Values course was by no means easy. Seeing everything I’ve done was a blow to the chest. But, after coming clean and writing it all down, the burden of those memories diminished, and I could see more clearly. It taught me responsibility, and I have a higher knowledge of how I affect all aspects of my life and I can see how my ethics were then and now.

The Changing Conditions in Life course gave me tools to get my life on track and keep it there, as well as ways to better different aspects of my life. I’ve gained knowledge about myself and the process too. I know how to reenter the world as a new person, and if anything slips, I know what to do to fix it.

I have changed as a person, but the thing that sticks out the most is I can see the change in my everyday routine. Someone once told me the worst days are the days you will remember the most. But I think that changed because I’ve had more good than bad days here. And I will never forget this place. This program wasn’t easy, but if it were, it wouldn’t be the best there is.

H.S. Narconon Graduate