Addicted to Numb; Now Addicted to Life

Growing up in Ohio in a close family with 3 brothers and 2 sisters, I had a very good life growing up. It was what I would term a conservative, not a fancy life, but was filled with love and with parents who supported me and who I could talk to about anything. My father was a good provider and hard worker and was a role model to me. One of my favorite memories growing up was telling my mother I want to go scuba diving, and very shortly going with her to the beautiful Cayman Islands and learning to scuba dive in the crystal waters there.

When I was 22, I had oral surgery and was given Vicoden, an opioid painkiller. That gave me a taste for opiates and about 6 years later I started taking oxycontin and even pharmaceutical Fentanyl. This drug use started out as recreational but soon I was addicted, chasing it daily. I was a functioning addict in that I had a job, car and money, but I felt like a zombie, which was not my usual character.

At this point my father, in his usual supportive role, saved my life. He saw what was happening, and one day came to me with a pamphlet from Narconon. I was able to talk to him about my problem and we came to an agreement that I would do the Narconon program, as it sounded like it was what I needed.

Narconon Arrowhead is out in a beautiful state park in Oklahoma, and the location was what I wanted – far from the environment in which I was using drugs.

I had never done rehab, so did not know what to expect from Narconon, and it was initially a bit of a culture shock, but the staff were very welcoming, took good care of me and without being pushy, got me through it. The sauna detox part of the program was great. As well as the physical improvement from getting the drugs out of my body, I got to know the other students and became friends and we helped each other through. This was 22 years ago and I am still in touch with some of them.

“I have peace of mind in that I am free to do what I like and have no need of drugs in my life.”

The courses made me think of life in a different perspective, and I concentrated on my sobriety and really looking at what was important to me. I separated myself from the people I was doing drugs with and the places that I was doing them and have never let them back into my life. I even refused opiate painkillers when I had a broken collar bone as I was not going to let drugs control my life again. Drugs are not a temptation.

Since leaving drugs behind in 2003, I went back to work in the horse racing industry in Michigan, which I continue to work in today. I have been with my girlfriend for 6 years and have a great relationship including raising a child. My relationships with my family have been excellent. I have peace of mind in that I am free to do what I like and have no need of drugs in my life.

To others who have a problem with drug addiction, my advice is that there is a better life out there. Decide that you want that and then do what you need to do to get it.

Ed, Narconon Arrowhead Graduate