Why Narconon Arrowhead Does Not Use Drugs in Recovery

The Narconon program has been around for fifty years and, for its entire history, has succeeded without the use of drugs during recovery. In Oklahoma, Narconon Arrowhead has continued this tradition by offering a completely drug-free recovery. The Narconon rehab program focuses on restoring each person’s ability to build and manage a sober life for themselves, eliminating the need for any medication to quell cravings or manage other symptoms of addiction.

Conventional rehabilitation programs may use drugs during withdrawal or for a longer term. Drugs like buprenorphine or methadone are used to prevent cravings and relapse and antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs or others are used to treat mental conditions that some medical practitioners diagnose as “co-existing” with addiction. But there is another choice. We are proud to offer our drug-free alternative.

Withdrawal

While some people will need a medically-supervised withdrawal to protect their health while they withdraw from alcohol or benzodiazepines, most people can tolerate a drug-free withdrawal if they have the right support. At Narconon Arrowhead, we immediately begin to supply doses of nutritional supplements to each person. The nutritional formulas we use are specifically designed to help the body rebuild after the effects of drugs or alcohol that were consumed.

Most people starting rehab have not taken care of themselves for a very long time. Most of them are in a nutritionally depleted condition. That nutritional depletion can be a major factor in causing a person’s low mood and lack of energy as he comes off the drugs he was using. Additionally, the drugs, themselves, can cause vitamin and nutritional deficiencies. By supplying the nutrition they have been lacking, we help stabilize each person’s mood and energy. A calcium-magnesium drink provides further relaxation of the body, helping ease stress, cramps and muscle pain.

We accompany this nutritional regimen with plenty of one-on-one work with the staff at Narconon Arrowhead. Walks through the state park where our center is located, gentle reorientation exercises and other activities help calm the person’s body and mind.

No one is left to fend for himself. Some people going through this withdrawal have called it the most tolerable withdrawal they’ve ever experienced. We love giving each person a chance to end their reliance on all drugs as soon as they walk through our doors.

(Of course, anyone who needs medication for a physical condition would continue taking that medication on the advice of their physician.)

Detoxification

In most rehabs, the word “detoxification” refers to their withdrawal regimens. At Narconon Arrowhead, it means something very different. Here, it refers to the New Life Detoxification – a healthy combination of moderate exercise, an exact nutritional program and supervised time in a dry-heat sauna. This combination has proven to enable those in recovery to flush out old, stored residues of past drug or alcohol use. When those drugs were consumed, the body worked hard to break them down and eliminate them. Still, some traces were stored in fatty tissues and this procedure enables the body to free them from storage and wash them away.

Students entering the sauna for detoxification

The result of this detox is a new freshness of outlook, a more positive attitude, and clearer thinking. Many people talk about an ability to manage and, in some cases, eliminate cravings after this detoxification. It’s also common for people to say that they finally feel like they did before they began using any drugs.

Recovering from Past Trauma and Guilt

If a person does not recover from past trauma before leaving a rehabilitation center, it can jeopardize his lasting sobriety. Unresolved fear and pain stemming from events in the past can trigger a renewed need for drugs or alcohol to blot it out. A unique series of actions referred to as objectives helps a person leave that pain behind and experience fresh hope for the future.

A recovering person’s guilt can also trap him in the past. It’s much easier to get a fresh start on a new life when that guilt has been relieved. This is one of the next steps at Narconon Arrowhead. The Personal Values life skills training course helps lift a person’s spirit as this relief is achieved. 

Further life skills training prepares a person to put his life in order once he gets back home, and keep things stable thereafter.

Many drug treatment centers diagnose other mental conditions in their patients. We do not. We see that for most people, when they overcome their intense cravings for drugs and get relief from trauma and guilt, and as they build the confidence that they manage a sober life using their own abilities, they can feel happy for the first time in years, sometimes decades. No drugs are needed for anything other than a physical condition they might suffer from.

If you are seeking a drug-free program and one that rebuilds a person’s native ability to manage a sober, productive life, call Narconon today at 1-800-468-6933. 

AUTHOR
KH

Karen Hadley

For more than a decade, Karen has been researching and writing about drug trafficking, drug abuse, addiction and recovery. She has also studied and written about policy issues related to drug treatment.

NARCONON ARROWHEAD

DRUG EDUCATION AND REHABILITATION