What Oklahoma DOESN’T Need: Record-Setting Drug Overdose Deaths

Everyone’s got an opinion about the most pressing problems in Oklahoma and what the solutions to those problems should be. The economy is uppermost in the minds of many Oklahomans, followed by education, immigration and healthcare. The state needs solutions that benefit the hard-working people in this state. What the state does NOT need is what it has: Drug overdose deaths hitting new, highest-ever levels.

Drug overdoses in Oklahoma, 2001-2014

According to a report from OklahomaWatch.org, the 2014 statistic for drug overdose deaths hit 864. The second-highest year was 2012 with 850 deaths. The numbers really jumped up in 2010 – the year that OxyContin (a favorite painkiller of abuse) was reformulated to be hard to abuse. This change turned many people toward the heroin market. Between 2009 and 2010, the number of lives lost went from 646 to 814.

It’s pretty safe to say that nearly everyone in the state knows someone who has been affected by drug abuse, addiction or an overdose death. Therefore, this problem has visited nearly every household in Oklahoma.

The state does NOT need any more record-setting years. What it does need is an effective way of freeing individuals from their addictions in a lasting, healthy way.

Narconon Arrowhead Offers a Practical, Effective Solution

For fifteen years, Narconon Arrowhead has been providing drug rehabilitation services in Pittsburg County, just north of McAlester. For 25 years, we’ve been your neighbors in Oklahoma. Each step of the Narconon program helps a person recover from the damage done by drug use and build strong new life skills for a sober future. No drugs are ever given as part of this recovery program because they are not needed. Each person learns how to rely on their own skills and finds relief from guilt as they go through the program. Most people also comment that their cravings are greatly reduced to manageable levels as well – some people even say their cravings are gone.

The story of one young woman we’ll call Victoria illustrates the changes a person goes through as they progress through the Narconon program.

Withdrawal: As soon as a person arrives, they are provided with general nutritional support that helps a person begin to heal from the assault of drugs and alcohol. One-on-one work with the staff helps a person get focused on the future and oriented in their new surroundings. Victoria said: “Withdrawal helped me stabilize my body and start to have a clear mind.”

Next, Victoria completed a deep detoxification that utilizes time in a dry-heat sauna plus more nutritional supplementation and moderate daily exercise. This combination enables the body to dislodge and flush out old stored drug toxins. When Victoria finished the Narconon New Life Detoxification, she said: “I feel so healthy and clear after completing sauna that I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

What followed was a step called objectives, consisting of unique, precise exercises that help put a person back in control of his actions and even his thoughts. Each person learns to leave the past behind and truly live in the present without effort or strain. Victoria described the results like this: “They have the purpose to focus you on the environment, and I learned to do things such as control myself, body and mind, be present in the moment, confront a situation that may seem uncomfortable and get as much out of it as possible.”

The Life Skills segment of the Narconon program followed. Victoria learned how to differentiate between people who would be harmful and those who are beneficial and how to deal with both types. “I had to really evaluate the people in my life and decide who I want to associate with going forward,” she said.

She also learned a precise procedure for achieving relief from the guilt experienced by anyone who has been addicted. Each person learns how to remedy the harm they have done to themselves and others during this part of the program. As she came to the end of the Life Skills part of the program, she commented, “I feel relieved, revitalized, and most, if not all guilt is gone, because I found the problem and worked to fix it with a clear mind and clear goals in the future.”

This is what Oklahoma needs – effective drug rehabilitation that prepares a person to start a productive, enjoyable life as soon as they go home. And that’s what Oklahoma has in the Narconon Arrowhead program. Call us today to find out how we can help you or someone you care about.

http://oklahomawatch.org/2015/04/15/overdose-deaths-set-new-record/

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