Drug Addiction Stories & Info

I had made it through the two weeks in rehab, but I was not convinced I was getting any better, I still wanted to use drugs – but I convinced myself to stick with it, as it was some good clean time.  The therapists poked and prodded and were digging deep to help me understand why my disease took hold, even though the whole disease thing did not sit well with me.  The thing that confused me was that I made the choice to do drugs; no one in my family ever did drugs and my mother was not a drug user or drinker while she was pregnant.  I just found it hard to believe that I could develop a disease based on a personal choice that I made.  I was going to stick with the help however, because maybe they could get somewhere with me and I could learn some new ways to stay clean.   I never though rehab would be a miracle cure for me, but I did think it would give me some new insight into why this happened and how I can change for good.

I managed to get into some good routines while in treatment and got my own health back to normal, it was a nice

I managed to get drug-free.

feeling being rested on a daily basis and actually eating right for a change.  The days were passing by very quickly, and I decided not to call my parents. I figured if I have come this far, I would wait until I finished the program all together.  The therapy turned out to be quite helpful as I managed to locate some triggers that pushed me back to drug use and I handled some of the traumatic events that happened in my life, overall I felt good, but there was still something that was there, something that I could not put my finger on.  I knew why I started using drugs and I figured out why I continued, but for some reason I was not really fully happy with what I saw in the mirror everyday.

My graduation day was coming and I seemed to be ready according to the doctors.  They would help me get set up in a transition house to help develop further skills and help with the transition into society.  I was still doubting something, but could not figure out what it was; I would see how the transition house went and take it from there.  After I graduated I decided to call my parents and to my surprise they were quite relieved to even hear from me and even happier that I had got help; yet, I could still hear some hesitation in their voice as they spoke to me, and rightfully so.  I had screwed my family over so many times; I expected them to have some reserve.  I told them where I would be staying and where I was working, and they told me they would make some time to come visit.  Everything seemed to be going as planned and falling into place.  The halfway house was nothing fancy by any means and was ran by a group of people whom seemed decent.  We had to do most of everything ourselves, which was not a problem and the fact that I had a job helped out significantly.  They would do random drug tests, and if we were caught using they would just kick us out.

I managed to complete the transition program quite well and was back to a regular routine.  The room I was renting from my co-worker was still available and I got back to working regular hours again.  I still had the recurring thought in my head, I was not completely happy with what I saw everyday in the mirror.  I have battled a lot up to this point, my 30^th birthday was coming soon, and I wanted to be sure I was comfortable with everything.  I had nothing really to show for my life, no real education and no real work experience or significant life experience besides years of drug abuse.  This could actually be it; I needed more, I needed more challenges in my life and I needed to expand who I was.  What I was thinking at the time made absolutely no sense to me, but I knew what I had to do.

What a mess I have gotten myself into, 25 years old, and hooked on crack. After I left my parents house five years ago, I went to stay with some guys I use to work with. Unfortunately, these guys did more drugs then I was doing in any given day. Of course as time went on and I was going from job to job, and not really doing anything with my life, it was just easy for me to take my drug use up to another level. I don’t even know how I got hooked on this stuff in the first place. I was getting high at some guys house with some other people I know, and one these guys passed me a pipe, and said this will definitely make you feel better. The high was like nothing I ever experienced before; it gave me this intense feeling, almost like total bliss. I remember the high not lasting very long, but my mind was screaming at me for more.

Drug addict suffering.

It went on like this for some time, throughout my mid twenties I became very unreliable as an employee, and could barely hold down a job. My parents were catching on to everything; yet, I don’t think they knew I was hooked on crack. I never imagined I would end up like this, I always thought things were under control. Right now I am working as a bartender at a local bar, it seems to support my habit, and I work at night. I don’t sleep much; I seem to be spending most of my day getting high. I live in a tiny one-bedroom apartment, its cheap and in a bad area, but I am left alone. I haven’t talked to my parents in months, and they have not tried to contact me. Some days I wish this never happened to me, and other days I can’t go on unless I am getting high. I remember one day specifically, it was actually one week before my 26^th birthday and when I got into work, I was given a message that my parents had called. Being that I did not own a phone, or any real means of keeping in contact with anyone, the bar was the only place anyone could reach me at. My parents found out I was working there through one of my old high school friends who came in one night. Anyways, the message said for me to call them, it was about my birthday. Part of me was very suspicious about why I was getting a call now, but another part of me was relieved I got the phone call. I would call them the next day after work.

I got to a pay phone outside my apartment and called my folks, my mom answered the phone. She was inviting me over for dinner to celebrate my birthday; she said it was going to be just the three of us there. I didn’t really hesitate, I said yes, and she told me what time to be there and offered to pick me up. I told her I would just have a friend drop me off; I did not want my parents to see where I lived. I made it to my parent’s house, and saw my mother standing outside waiting for me. She smiled and seemed happy to see me, and I did everything I could to hide my drug use; yet, I think she still knew. She brought me inside and walked me to the living room, and I saw my father, my brother, and one of my high school friends all sitting in the room. This strange guy came up to me and introduced himself as a intervention counsellor. I did not know what to think, I wasn’t high, so I knew this wasn’t a dream. He sat me down, and him and my family all started intervening. Of course, I denied everything, and blamed them for everything, got angry, threatened suicide, anything I could think of to get them to back off. The thought never crossed my mind to just take off and run, I guess because I was sober, there was a part of me that wanted to hear this. But, I was not convinced; they said they had a treatment centre picked out for me, and everything was going to be ok, they loved me and did not want to see me like this.

Long and short of it; I walked out. My parents gave me a bottom line and told me never to contact them unless I wanted help, and that they could not support me. My dad, just as he did five years ago, gave me a number to the treatment centre, and said nothing. I got back into my regular routine, but my drug use picked up to the point I was missing work again. Eventually I got fired, and I had no money saved.

Many people battling drug addiction will make several attempts at treatment. However, when the drug user is picking the treatment centre, they will typically pick a short term, and/or ineffective program. One of the most important things to look at when handling a loved one addicted to drugs is to make sure the quality of treatment is very high. Many families end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on treatment centres that don’t work. The family is left wondering if their loved one will ever get better, and the addict is left convinced he or she will die a drug addict. For more information about the Narconon program and how it can be the right treatment centre for your loved one, call our toll free line at, 1-877-782-7409, or visit us at www.narcononrehab.com.

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