Why Non-Traditional Works
Life was good for me growing up. I had a very cliché, all-American childhood. My dad was my baseball coach, and I was liked by everyone. However, I was a little disconnected spiritually. I started drinking and smoking pot around age 15. I genuinely liked it because it made me feel connected and present and part of something. It seemed to make people like me more, and as a young teen, this reinforced my need to do it. It was a normal thing for me to do every day.
When I got to college, I tried my first pill, and that changed everything. The first pill I had a problem with was Adderall. I thought it made me feel like I was “normal.” It made me confident and gave me a feeling of self-certainty.
I got my own prescription, which I immediately started abusing. I began to get paranoid, like I was on methamphetamines. This led me to take Xanax and opiates.
Between the weed and the Adderall, I was able to make deals and trades to keep the addiction going for a while. I eventually got in trouble for stealing an iPad; the judge threw the book at me and gave me a class IV felony. With my stupid addict mentality, this led me to decide that Adderall was the problem and that I should only stick to opiates and Xanax. I felt like the Adderall got me in trouble, and opiates just made me sleep on the couch. Three months later, I bought heroin for the first time. I was a heroin addict for about 2 years straight.
I woke up in the ER a few times. I remember one time I was walking in the Target parking lot and I just passed out. It was freezing cold, and this lady found me and called an ambulance. I remember coming to in the ambulance and asking for my coat, where I found my stash of heroin, and I left the hospital.
I had burned so many bridges with my friends and family that I eventually went to a homeless shelter. After 2 or 3 weeks, I had a moment of clarity when I realized I needed to get to rehab while I was still on my parents’ insurance. I walked to the nearest rehab and checked myself in. Since I had private insurance, I got roped into going to a program in California. I was there a year and a half, and I relapsed many times. They would just send me back to detox, and I would start over because my insurance covered it. They didn’t do anything wrong by me. It just wasn’t working. To be honest, I just wanted to still get high. I wanted to get sober, but I couldn’t stop thinking about using. The lady who ran the place had a nephew who did the Narconon program, which is how I found out about it.
When I got to Narconon, it was great for two simple reasons. One was that it was over 90 days inpatient, and I needed that, and two, I needed the structure and support to put a wall between me and the drugs long enough to help me.
“I know some people out there judge Narconon for being nontraditional, but as someone that went to a dozen traditional rehabs, this is the program that worked for me, and I am now sober over 6 years.”
The sauna program was amazing. I do not know what it was about it—probably the vitamins—but it made me feel like a kid again. I could go to sleep and wake up not only without drugs, but also without even thinking about it. Every other rehab I would need trazadone or something else to put me to sleep. I know some people out there judge Narconon for being nontraditional, but as someone who went to a dozen traditional rehabs, this is the program that worked for me, and I am now sober for over 6 years.
My life is so good now. All I wanted was to make a livable wage and be a productive member of society. I wildly exceeded all those expectations. I have a fiancé, I own a house, and I am a corporate consultant making good money. I can now provide for not just me but also for my loved ones who helped me out so much.
I know how addiction is. I have been in that hole, maybe deeper. Everyone can do it. You just need to believe it. If you want it, it is not complicated. It is easily achievable in a reasonable amount of time. I recommend the Narconon program if you or a loved one needs help.
A.P., Narconon Graduate
