A METH ADDICT SALVAGES HIS LIFE FROM RUIN IN NARCONON SUNCOAST
- The average meth addict dies at the age of 38—42 years less than the average U.S. life expectancy.
- Less than 7% of meth addicts are able to kick the habit in traditional drug rehab programs.
- The Narconon Network consists of 39 centers in 18 countries, spanning six continents.
- Every seven hours, another student graduates the Narconon program.
Methamphetamine (meth) is a highly addictive illegal drug in the same class as cocaine. Many users report getting hooked the first time they use it. In fact, meth is so difficult to get off and stay off, that 93 percent of those in traditional drug treatment programs return to abusing it.
To help drug addicts overcome their addiction for good, grants from the IAS are making it possible to establish Model Narconon Centers on every continent and other key locations. One of these is Narconon Suncoast, located on a 7.5 acre site in Clearwater, Florida. The following is a recent success story from someone now freed from addiction to meth:
“‘Who am I?’ is a question I always knew the answer to. Growing up, I was overall, a happy, energetic, bubbly and outspoken child. After my high school graduation, I decided that I was going to take a year off and start college the following year. During that year, I began to face many adult-life struggles. I began to go out with friends to parties, drinking and doing drugs. All of my troubles began to fade away—so I thought—and I became more and more careless.
I used drugs, specifically meth, to suppress the realization of who I was becoming. Before I knew it, my life started a dramatic downhill spiral. I lost hope. I was lost. Before I realized it, an entire year slipped by with no accomplishment, just disappointments.
I thought there was no hope left for me. I knew I could do great things even though drugs caused me to think that all I’d ever be was an addict. I tried multiple times to get clean on my own. Eventually I had to face the fact that I couldn’t do it alone. I began looking at different rehab programs, but I knew I needed help with more than just my meth addiction. I was broken down in all areas of my life and within myself.
One day while scrolling through my Facebook Newsfeed, a link to Narconon Suncoast popped up with the link to a success story from someone who had done the program. The girl looked genuinely happy and her story was beyond anything I have ever read. She gave me hope. I researched Narconon Suncoast and found more inspiring success stories. After telling my family that I wanted to get help, I showed them the website and their faces lit up with an overwhelming look of relief. We got in contact with the facility and three days later I was on a plane heading to Clearwater, Florida.
The staff and students here were so welcoming. My journey to a new life had begun.
I spent eight days coming off meth. The staff helped me with all the physical pain and emotional pain that I was going through and got me through it. On my eighth day I felt 100 times better. I was starting to get my energy back.
The next part of the program was the Sauna Detox. I was given the opportunity to sweat out all the drugs I had ever taken.
After completing the Sauna Detox I feel like a brand new person. My body is clean from all the toxins I had put into it and I feel better than I ever have before. My cravings for meth are completely gone and I have real energy again. The comparison to how I feel now versus when I first got here is beyond dramatic. I feel like I have started from scratch and I can rebuild myself and become the person I was destined to be.”
