How Narconon is Different from a Methadone Program
When drug rehabs attempting to treat heroin or other opiate addicts see their methods fail time after time, you might think that they would find a better way of offering rehab services. Perhaps they would determine which existing methods being offered resulted in the highest levels of sobriety and then use scientific talent to improve on those results.
Instead, they decided to offer an alternative drug produced by pharmaceutical companies. The addicts would still be drugged, but the drugs would be legal. The new drug would be covered by some medical insurances, and the person would not be breaking the law every time he got a fix.
Surely that is better. Admittedly, it does improve some societal problems. But it solves very little when it comes right down to the condition of the person who’s chained to this new addiction.
What do those who are enrolled in methadone programs say about this form of treatment?
Every day, they have to report to the methadone clinic to get their dose. It’s usually in a seedy part of town and some of the people they stand in line with are scary. They can never miss a day or a dose which means they will never be able to take an out of town trip.
They feel tired and look older than they should. They get every illness that comes along, every cold that friends or family members get. They can’t sleep well and never feel rested when they get up. They have trouble concentrating and remembering facts and names. They nod off in the middle of the day. They worry about any delay or accident that might throw them into withdrawal before they can get another dose. They feel hopeless about ever getting off methadone and feel condemned to this way of living for the duration of their lives.
When does a person withdraw from methadone and have the chance to create a drug-free life? It’s very difficult. The body builds a tolerance to methadone, just like it does with other opiates, so dosages tend to increase over time. And particularly when dosages get high, methadone is very difficult to withdraw from – factually, it is much more difficult than withdrawing from heroin.
What’s more, a 2006 study in Scotland showed that 97% of nearly 700 enrollees in methadone programs were still taking illicit drugs years later – while the government paid for their methadone. Another report four years later stated that methadone was responsible for more than one-third of all drug deaths in Scotland. Experts called for a re-evaluation of the efficacy of methadone programs in eliminating the opiate addiction problem.
Despite what those selling methadone programs will tell you, it is possible for an opiate/opioid addict to achieve a clean, sober, drug-free life – one that lasts. This is an everyday accomplishment at Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers.
Narconon Knows that Addiction can be Overcome
Many people in the addiction treatment field are completely certain that addiction can never be fully overcome, that anyone who has been an addict is always going to be an addict.
Narconon knows, from fifty years of helping addicts achieve lasting recovery, that addicts can and do recover from addiction. When they kick their habits, conquer their cravings and learn how to make drug-free decisions on their own volition, Narconon graduates have the right to stand up and state that they are no longer addicts. They are now capable citizens, ready to live sober, productive lives alongside their fellows.
How does the Narconon drug rehabilitation program accomplish this goal? By addressing each of the major points of damage done by addiction and helping each recovering addict repair that damage. Cravings are reduced through an innovative detoxification program that flushes out drug residues. A resurgence of personal integrity occurs as a result of education on the basics of integrity and personal ethics, followed by a unique therapeutic process of recovering lost integrity.
The ability to make drug-free decisions is trained into each person on the program by teaching them who is safe and who is not safe to associate with, and how to turn a bad situation into a better one.
Addiction can be and is overcome every day at one of the scores of Narconon centers located on six continents. In fifty years, tens of thousands of people have discovered that sobriety, self-respect, and confidence are possible when addiction is conquered through the Narconon method.
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