Written on May 19, 2009 at 9:12 AM by Nick Hayes

Real Life Perspective on Drug Addiction

Filed under Overcoming Addiction {3 comments}

A client of the Narconon Trois-Rivieres drug rehab program wanted an opportunity to deliver a message about drug and alcohol addiction. Once a former addict of ten years, this person has seen first hand the destructive nature of drugs, and how much it can take away from a person. He says in his letter: “When I was a freshman in high school I started using drugs. At first it was a recreational thing, just trying to fit in with the older crowd, but quicker then I could have ever imagined, it spiraled me down a road of self-destruction. I was always a good student, receiving good grades, and always eager to learn. At first I was still attending class, still doing my work, but soon smoking pot on the weekends turned into smoking everyday, and school took a back seat to getting to high. After a little while smoking pot just didn’t seem to be as cool as it was. I would have to take uppers just to make it through the day, because the night before I was so stoned I didn’t sleep. That lasted until my junior year when finally my drug use and skipping school could no longer be overlooked. I was suspended from school for failing a drug test. Even after being suspended and having my parents and school both knowing I was using, I still didn’t stop.”

“I was already a full blown drug addict at 16 years old. I went from being an intelligent and responsible student to a manipulative, irresponsible, and untrustworthy drug addict and was just a kid. Since I couldn’t hold a job being an addict, I started selling drugs and turning others into what I had already become. Kids whom were responsible good students, were turning into drug addicts because of my actions. I was arrested when i was 18 for selling drugs and placed on probation. That still didn’t stop me. I was manipulative enough to get through random urine tests and still using drugs while on probation. One drug led to another, and so on and so forth. Now I am a grown man in a drug rehab center, battling a 10-year drug habit that I could have prevented from the start by simply saying no. It is much easier getting into the drug life then it is getting out. I’ve lost countless numbers of friends, countless numbers of opportunities, the respect of my family, and the people who cared about me, but most importantly I lost myself. Now I battle day by day trying to regain the things that I have lost, trying to make up for the horrible things I have done and said, trying to find myself again, and its not easy battle. I only wish I knew where smoking some weed on weekends would lead me 10 years later, because I guarantee that I would have chosen differently.

If you or someone you know is battling a drug or alcohol addiction, call our toll free number at, 1-877-782-7409, or visit us at www.narconon.ca

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Article by Nick Hayes

Nick Hayes is a graduate of the Narconon drug rehab program in 2005. Nick takes much enjoyment in writing, and feels there needs to be more information about drugs and alcohol provided to the people of the world. He believes nobody should have to go through an addiction.

Nick Hayes tagged this post with: Alcohol Addiction, drug rehab, drug rehab program Read 257 articles by Nick Hayes

David A. Reeves

I also know first hand what drugs can take away from your life, I lost my wife, my home my job and my freedom. I have just completed and sent to my publisher my memoirs of how I came to this place in life. My book “Running Away From Me” should be available late summer or early fall. I have included my short description of the book.
“From inside a prison cell, a young man takes an honest look back at his life and tries to figure out how he ended up locked up away from society and labeled a violent criminal. His story is engrossing, gripping and true. Take a dark journey through the author’s real-life nightmare as he battles his self-destructive obsession with drugs, which leads him on a roller coaster ride through hell on earth. Witness the progression of his addiction, which takes him to death’s door as he runs from drug dealers, cops, God and more tellingly, himself. In the face of every negative consequence, he continues using until he reaches the place where all hope is lost, and he still can’t stop.”
http://RunningAwayFromMe David A. Reeves

Cost/Benefit Analysis of my Addiction

After the completion of my book “Running Away From Me” I was thinking back about the cost and benefits of my drug use. Putting this in context should be enough to keep me from ever using again.

Costs: fear, anxiety, sadness, depression, anger, shame, guilt, disgust, boredom, impulsion, emotional exhaustion, loneliness, instability, pessimism, feelings of worthlessness, feeling half-dead and suicidal, abnormal, out of control, suspiciousness. I didn’t fit in anywhere, never learned any social skills, constant conflict with others, had to deal with thugs, hoodlums, and other shady characters, had no time for the ones I loved, RUINED THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP IN MY LIFE. Costs to my health include low energy level, CONTRACTED HEPATITIS C, poor personal hygiene, headaches, diarrhea, hangovers, vomiting, intense craving, sexual dysfunction, poor sleep habits, GUNSHOT WOUNDS, hallucinations and delusions, and withdrawal symptoms. Mental costs include no creativity, couldn’t think clearly, poor memory, unproductive at work when I actually went to work, no personal interests or hobbies, no interest in anything that did not involve getting high. Financial costs include debt, unpaid bills, ruined credit and all around financial chaos, and lost time spent hunting drugs. Other costs include PRISON, I was dishonest with myself and others, no self-respect, irresponsible and always let down and dissapointing others. I was a hypocrite by acting in conflict with my values.I LOST FREEDOM IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD.

Benefits: a fleeting feeling.
http://RunningAwayFromMe David A. Reeves

Greetings From Hell on Earth – My Prison Cell

I used drugs and alcohol for twenty years. From the time I was fourteen in 1984 until I was thirty-four in 2004. I tried to quit many times. In fact, I did quit many times, but I always eventually started back. I never could seem to accept the fact that pot and beer were harmful to me. They seemed like such innocuous substances. The drugs that always got me in trouble were the ones I knew were dangerous – cocaine, opiates, crack, and pills. But I’m an addict. It wasn’t the highly addictive nature of the drugs I was using that caused problems for me. It was the highly addictive nature of me.
There’s a beast that lives inside me. I don’t know how he got there or where he came from or if I was born with him. I do know he has an insatiable appetite for ANY mood altering chemical. The more he is fed, the more he wants. If I feed this beast with pot or alcohol, he’s going to gain enough strength to get what he really wants.
If also discovered that if I’m craving any high at all, then something is not right anyway. Relapse happens a long time before I actually use. Why to I want, so badly, to escape from feeling normal? What feeling am I trying to escape from or replace with a better feeling? Why do I feel the need to get high in the first place? It’s just for a feeling. Is it that important? What am I willing to sacrifice in order to feel good? Why can’t I feel good without a chemical?
I’ve sacrificed everything for that feeling. I traded everything away. I reached a point where life was not worth living without that feeling. And I’ve suffered the most horrendous consequences for it. I literally gave my life away. Sold my soul to the devil. For a feeling. Read my book “Running Away From Me” when it is released later this summer.

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Article by Nick Hayes