15 Months Later—Why the Narconon Program Worked for Me
At the beginning of July 2018, I searched for a treatment center. I was tired of being put on psych meds that I had been struggling with. I was tired of still craving drugs and relapsing. I was tired of not handling everything I needed to handle to change the way I viewed things. All I knew was that I needed long-term treatment and something different from the approach I was taking before.
I chose Narconon because it fits the requirements that I had set for myself. When I reached out and talked to the intake person on the phone, they seemed to have all the answers to the considerations I had, and it all made sense to me. They had that different approach I had been looking for. My family came and toured the place and we all decided this was what I had been needing. This was my fourth attempt at treatment. I had just completed a 28-day program in 2017 but had gone back to using drugs. The other places I had gone to were obviously not working. I felt as if I had hit rock bottom and I was desperate to do whatever I needed to do.
“I felt like a brand-new person with a whole new outlook on everything that came my way. I didn’t let my past and the drugs take up any more of my time or energy.”
I completed the Narconon program and in doing so I dealt with everything I needed to deal with to handle my heroin and crack addiction. I felt like a brand-new person with a whole new outlook on everything that came my way. I didn’t let my past and the drugs take up any more of my time or energy. I felt clear-headed again. I was physically healthy, and my body felt completely clean. I had control over my thoughts, emotions, and decisions. I regained the confidence that I had lost during the 11 years of on-and-off addiction. I loved myself again without the use of drugs or alcohol.
Today I am 15 months clean and sober. I don’t consider myself an addict anymore. I don’t think nor act like one. I have been through many different learning experiences since I graduated from Narconon. The way I view and handle the ups and downs that life brings me is amazing. I won’t say that I am perfect, there are learning experiences and if I don’t handle them like I feel I should, I take responsibility and handle them accordingly. It doesn’t take me long to have the realization I haven’t handled a situation like I should have, which was certainly not the case when I was using. I used to dwell on these situations because I knew, deep down, I was not living the way I was taught, and this would fuel my addiction even more. Today I learn from them and they build on top of one another. When I go home, where I would relapse in the past, I am in complete control of myself and my emotions around people, places, and things. There are circumstances you cannot avoid no matter how much you try. Today I process them and move on. Most importantly on this journey of recovery, I have not craved a drink or a drug. This in itself is amazing.
I now work at Narconon Suncoast and help the students who come into our program get through the same rough times I once struggled with. This has been very rewarding and has helped with building the rest of my confidence back up. I walk around humble but with my head held high thanks to the Narconon Program.
Shauna K.—Narconon Suncoast Graduate
