How My Life Changed Forever

I had a good life before using drugs. I worked every day and was raising a family. One of my happiest moments was when I married my high school sweetheart. We met in high school, got married, and raised kids. That was the good part of life.

I started using drugs to help me get through the day and make the time go by better. I was working 12–14 hour days, and using drugs made those long hours seem shorter.

I was working with some guys on the job, and one of them had some meth. He said to me, “Snort a line of this. It will make the day go by faster.” I did, and it felt too good.

After 3–4 years, I reached the point where I had to have it every day. That’s the sad thing about drugs—you get addicted. Over time, it got harder and harder. I didn’t want my wife to know about it, so I tried to hide it from her. But before long, I was doing stupid things and lying to her just to go out and get drugs. I started staying out all night with friends.

I knew I needed help. I tried to stop for a year, but I couldn’t kick it. I’d quit for a month, then relapse.

My brother had gone to Narconon before, and I saw how much he changed. That’s exactly what I needed.

I knew I needed help. I had seen how it changed my brother’s life, so I was 100% willing to go through the program. When I got there, I didn’t experience much withdrawal. There were a lot of people there, and I enjoyed hearing everyone’s stories. I made some real good friends. I also needed to get away from the job that was enabling my drug use.

When I came out of the sauna, I knew I would never do drugs again. Then, when I went through the objectives, I learned how to live life again and how to talk to people. I still use the skills I learned, such as communication skills.

The biggest thing I got out of Narconon was learning how to communicate with others. It’s impossible to have a relationship without communication with them or having something in common. Now, I can find something I like about someone, discover what we have in common, and then I will be able to communicate with them.

I loved graduating. I felt really good, and I feel the same way today. My life changed forever. I started my own company after that. It’s been about 19 years since I went through the program, and I’ve been good ever since.

“I am living life to the fullest. I know I don’t have any problems and don’t even drink. It has been a good life.”

I have a great relationship with my family. I’ve got a grandson now, and my relationship with my wife is night and day. I quit lying to her, and now she trusts me. Before I went to Narconon, I was facing a divorce, but when I left the program, everything was fixed. The last 19 years with her have been wonderful.

I no longer wake up thinking about drugs. I’m good. Narconon changed my life.

What I liked about it was that they taught me it was a choice. I can choose to do drugs or not. I am not a recovering addict—I’m over it. They fixed me. After I graduated, I didn’t need to go to any meetings. I made the choice to be drug-free.

The program works. Everyone who goes to Narconon gets something different from it, but it works.

David R., Narconon Arrowhead Graduate