I Put Addiction Behind Me

“I can remember when I was a young boy I woke up happy. I was free and full of life and dreams. The world was at my feet. I played baseball, basketball and football with my friends and I loved them all. Being part of something bigger made me happy on the inside.

“My parents would take my sister and me on vacation every year for a couple weeks and that made us feel loved. I went from a happy and carefree boy who had amazing dreams of what life could be, to a teenager who sat in the back of the classroom with the troublemakers. By 8th grade, I had started smoking tobacco and pot. It was at that point in my life when I started to skip school.

“Going into high school, I started to steal beer and cigarettes from my parents. My sister, however, was a straight A or B student, involved in school activities and didn’t get into trouble. I was the one always telling lies and floating my way through school. I was dangerous by the time I was 16, a completely different person than that hopeful boy. I was in and out of detention centers and finally, my father had enough of me and my lies. A court date of mine came, I was handcuffed and in shackles. When my turn came to speak to the judge my father stood up and said “My son is out of control, he is stealing and using drugs. Can you please help me?” The judge responded by saying “Yes, I can.”

“I was then sent to a place until I was 18 years old, a youth center for minors. The only thing I learned at this boot camp was new ways to manipulate and lie. When my 18th birthday came, my family came to pick me up.

“I immediately went back to my old ways, getting high, stealing and then back to jail. I then progressed to shooting up drugs.

“At that point, all the signs of that happy child were gone and only a monster remained. I felt a constant need to feed that monster. Next came felony charges for stealing. My parents got a lawyer and spent thousands for this was a serious charge. I got probation and still used drugs.

“I didn’t pay back my parents and they had to clean up my messes over and over. I had no concept of responsibility.

“In May 2012, my father died just 6 days after my birthday. On that birthday, I didn’t eat or spend time with my father. I just sat there. In fact, the last Christmas I had with him, I got a card that had no cash in it. I yelled at my father and took the rest of un-opened gifts and threw them outside. The last thing I said to my father was that I hoped he’d die. I went and got high and came back and apologized.

“My sister was also diagnosed with cancer. Needless to say, I wasn’t there for my family, I was getting high. This is something I regret. I held on to that for a long time. My mother also filed a protection order against me. I violated that while high and went back to jail.

“I then wound up homeless, on meth and living out of my truck. My mother still hadn’t given up on me and she found Narconon in 2017. I knew deep inside my heart I needed help, I wasn’t happy. My mother worked it out, so I had another chance.

“I had the desire to be that happy person who had dreams and enjoyed life. I was honest and wholeheartedly participated in the program. It didn’t happen overnight. It was a long road and took months.

“The staff was always right by my side if I needed anything. I had their support. I now had a home. I had incredible wins while doing the program. On the first step of program, sauna, I really started getting honest. I wrote down and told the staff what was really going on with me.

“I didn’t need drugs to sleep or function anymore; my body was released from that cycle. I then moved on to objectives. This was like going from high school baseball to the major leagues. I learned how to control my thoughts and emotions and get in present time and not be in the past. I broke down a few times but came out of it in an amazing way. I felt emotions I hadn’t felt in years due to drug use.

“After that, I moved to the Life Skills part of the program. This helped me overcome situations in my past that I still held on too but didn’t confront. I became more open and honest and handled my past. I felt release. I took responsibility for all the wrong I had created and owned up to them. This is not an easy step but it’s personal and helps you see the damage you created, and then handle it. I did it honestly despite the danger of being judged by the people I hurt.

“I have never felt better about myself. I owned up to my lies and wrongdoings. I am no longer a manipulator playing the victim thinking the world owes me everything. I no longer need to hurt people to make myself feel better for being a drug addict. I realized I used drugs to run from my problems and hide from my friends and family.

“The Narconon program and staff in Louisiana helped me in so many ways. The staff never gave up on me. Even when I tried to run from my problems, they loved me more and continued to help me get to the center of what I was trying to run away from. They helped me find out why I was running and exactly what it was that got me to using drugs in the first place.

“From everything and everyone in my life, I am proud to say Narconon Louisiana and the staff saved my life. This is my story and I am going to be very successful in life because of this program.”

M. K.