Maris’ Success Story

Hello, my name is Maris. I'm 25 years old and I'm from Latvia. I started using drugs when I was 16. I was smoking weed and taking Xanax, and after a while, I switched to other drugs like different types of benzos, stimulants, and psychedelics. At one point, my favorite was Adderall, and I was mixing it in very dangerous combinations with different drugs and alcohol.

I took so many drugs that I couldn't recognize myself anymore. I did things I'm not proud of. Not only was I using drugs, but I was also twice very close to a fatal overdose. I also started dealing drugs.

For quite some time, I was involved with criminals, and I ended up getting beaten up really badly and was forced to do drugs with them. I was very lucky that I escaped from them and stayed alive. This was the point where I realized I had to change, or I would soon be dead.

I opened up to my parents and let them know that I'd had enough of drugs and the kind of people who are involved with them, and that I wanted to change my life to be drug-free. My parents found a very good rehabilitation center called Narconon. We made a decision together, and they made it possible for me to come here to get professional help.

When I first arrived, some of the days were not the best for me. It was very difficult as some nights I couldn't sleep well because I still had nightmares from using drugs.

Once I was in a better condition, I started the sauna program. I was in the sauna for 27 days and I started to see big changes in myself already. I was sleeping much better at night and I didn't have trouble waking up in the morning, which had been a problem for me before. I felt healthier again.

The next step of the program was training drills to improve my communication skills, and then doing objectives. I did these steps together with another student, and we helped each other through it. We earned all the good benefits from it. I became much more stable as a person and felt present, not stuck in my past.

At that point, I was ready to begin the next step of the program, which is the life skills course on ups and downs in life. In this course, I learned about the antisocial and social personalities of people who were in my life. I had to make a decision to cut some people out of my life who are antisocial and are involved with drugs and criminal activities, as I no longer wanted to be connected to such people. It felt good, cutting all ties with them.

This was for my own good, and after fully completing this step, I was ready to move forward to the next step, which is the life skills course on personal values, where I gained the skill to make survival decisions.

The final step of the program was about changing conditions in life, and I used the tools that I learned in that course to improve my life and move to higher conditions.

I have been sober now for more than six months, and I'm doing well in life.

“I can say that without their help,
I would not be here today.”

I want to thank my parents. They were always patient with me and helped me a lot to get through these rough times, and I could always count on them. They believed in me, and that gave me the strength to not give up when it was very difficult for me. I can say that without their help, I would not be here today.

I also want to thank the staff of Narconon for all their help, for being there at all times, helping the students through the steps of the program, and having a lot of patience and understanding.

Maris, Narconon Europe Graduate