Narconon Patient Says She is Proof Treatment Works

Some individuals who themselves have never experienced drug addiction may believe that a person is a drug addict because he chooses to be one and he could stop at any time if he truly wanted to.  Unfortunately, this is not entirely true.  It is definitely true that an individual had to make an initial choice to use drugs.  They may have been under the impression that drugs would make a life situation or condition better, or they may have felt that drugs would allow them to escape a difficult situation or emotion in their life.  Whatever the reason behind their initial choice to use drugs, it is usually the only time they have any control over drugs. 

While drug chemicals initially invade the user’s body as a foreign intrusion, they soon become tolerated.  Continued drug use causes the body to depend on the drugs, and create strong physical cravings that the individual feels they have absolutely no control or power over.  This addictive power is not something that the individual willingly chose, but rather a trap they slowly stepped into when they began and continued their use of drugs.

It is not entirely false that an addict could stop drug use any time if he truly wanted to.  The key to successfully battling substance abuse is effective and thorough treatment that addresses both the mental and physical effects of drug use, and arms the individual with the tools they need to resolve future life problems without returning to drug use.  It is not a simple or easy task to resolve addiction, but it can and has been done time and again.

Proof of Effective Treatment

Stephanie began using drugs when she was only twelve years old.  Fifteen years later, her life was a complete wreck due to her problems with substance abuse.  She was living in her car, no longer had any connection with her family, and had abandoned her five year-old daughter.  Her entire life revolved around getting and staying high.

In her attempts to fight her addiction, Stephanie had spent time in two rehabilitation facilities but had achieved no lasting results.  She had also spent time in two different mental hospitals, as many of her symptoms mimicked mental illness symptoms.  She spent enough time in jail to feel like it was her home, and her life meant nothing to her.

Occasionally, Stephanie would achieve sobriety for short periods of time.  Without effective treatment, however, every day was a constant struggle - a fight against endless cravings and a desire to be high.  Sooner or later Stephanie would relapse into drug use, every time feeling more helpless and hopeless about ever having a future without drugs.

Fortunately, Stephanie found out about Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma.  Unable to afford the cost of treatment and without any support from family or friends, Stephanie entered upon a work-study arrangement with the facility in order to pay for her treatment.  She says that the work she did for Narconon during the five and a half months she was on her program does not come close to being able to pay them back for what they have done for her.

Stephanie no longer has any desire to get high.  She has regained her ability to love, trust and respect herself.  Narconon gave her the tools to recognize where she is in life and how she can deal with any problem or challenge life throws at her without returning to drug use. 

Thanks to her Narconon rehabilitation, Stephanie finally has a life.  Her family is proud of her accomplishments and her daughter is happy to have her mother back.  Stephanie says that the way Narconon fights addiction is very different from other rehabilitation facilities, but their program is powerful and workable and she is the proof.  After fifteen years of struggling with addiction, Stephanie is finally drug-free, healthy and happy.