I Did it For Her, I Did it For Me

Former addict rebuilding a life for herself and her daughter through the Narconon program.

Before coming to Narconon, I was living in Hell. I was at the tail end of a 6 year relationship with my daughter’s father; halfway through, we started using Crystal Meth as a way to mend our broken relationship (that’s what I’d told myself at the time).

After two years of using, the house I purchased was foreclosed on and sold to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps. At that point, I finally broke down and told my family that we had been having “money problems” but still hid the fact that we were using drugs. They didn’t understand how or why, but being the loving and still supportive family they are, they didn’t push me to tell them anything I wasn’t ready to discuss. For the next 8 months I lived in a pure, mortal Hell. But I stayed in the “hopes” that I would be able to get a new job and move myself and my daughter out of that situation. That never happened.

Finally, I’d had enough! Enough of that life. Enough of the sleepless nights. Enough of the constant, never-ending trail of lies that just kept growing to cover up more lies to allow me to continue using.

I remember thinking over and over,

“I will have to die for this to end!”

It wasn’t that I was suicidal, but I knew that if I didn’t get the help I desperately needed, death seemed like the only option.

Once my family was aware of my situation and the HUGE problem I had been facing alone, they came to my rescue. On their way to get me, my sister searched for a rehab center close to my home in north Alabama. The only site that she kept going back to was the one for Narconon. She called and left a message on their 800 hotline and within 10 minutes, she was on the phone with a counselor, getting all the information she could to help me. They had the best success rate, hands down.

The team of people who take those calls to get “us” in the door are truly amazing and nothing short of heroes without capes. I owe my future to the counselor who talked to me and told me that he wanted to help me and, that if I came to Narconon, I would get what I needed to handle my problem and move forward with my life. And so far, he was right!

I completed the withdrawal phase in just under a week, which is done one-on-one with a specialist. It lasted as long as I needed, until I was able to get back into a regular eating and sleeping schedule and got through the huge comedown.

Next, I was onto the New Life Detoxification, sauna detox, the part of the program that is meant to rid my whole body of all the toxins and poisons that I’d ingested over the last 17 years. I had been on psych meds (anti-depressants, anti-anxiety, and hypnotics) of the last 10-15 years and was fearful of what I’d experience. Even though I was very hesitant to embrace this portion because I hate sweating, I did it to the best of my ability. It took me 33 days to complete and I can honestly say that my body feels better now that it has ever felt!

I’m half way through my stay here at Narconon Suncoast and I’m currently in the Objectives course and re-learning how to live in the “here and now” and working on breaking the negative cycle that I’d always fallen back into.

Now, I am accepting responsibility for the choices that I made that got me here, and I’m looking forward to graduating from this program and starting a new and better life with my daughter!

— J.B.

AUTHOR

Jason Good

Jason has been working in the field of addiction and recovery for over 11 years. Having been an addict himself he brings real-word experience to the table when helping addicts and their families, while also offering a first-person perspective to the current drug crisis. Jason is passionate about educating the public about what’s currently going on in our society, and thankfully, offers practical solutions. Jason is also the co-host of The Addiction Podcast—Point of No Return. You can follow Jason on Google+, Twitter, or connect with him on LinkedIn.

NARCONON SUNCOAST

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION