My Life After My Heroin Addiction

 

Jakob is a long-term drug-free graduate of the Narconon program. We asked Jakob to do an interview with us to share his story. His hope and our hope is that his story will help others who are currently struggling with addiction.

Where were you born and raised?

I was born in a village called Jyllinge, 40 km outside Copenhagen.

What was your life like before you started doing drugs?

I was a student, had jobs, and played football in the local club.

What was one of the happiest moments in your life you can remember before you started doing drugs?

Working on my job as a cook, at big events with thousands of people participating at the sports event. We were very busy, having a lot of fun.

When and how did you first start using drugs?

In high school, some of my friends smoked hash and invited me to be part of the group. I smoked for the first time at a party at the gymnasium of the high school.

How did drugs affect your life?

I stopped doing my homework and dropped out in the second year. I was hopelessly behind with homework. I lost communication with my family. And I lost my goal playing football.

What lead you to come to Narconon?

Often there is a particular event that occurs to bring a person to Narconon. At that time, I had quitted smoking hash, instead, I smoked heroin. And I wanted to quit. After quitting 2 times by myself, cold turkey, and each time returning back to the point of smoking heroin daily, I decided to ask for professional help the third time. I wanted to quit for good. The commune offered me methadone, which I refused. So I was in a situation where I needed to find a way by myself.

How did you find Narconon?

I was hired to play music at an event. We did the little concert, there I met the ED of Narconon. He invited me to come down and see the Narconon center and get familiar with the rehabilitation program. During this weekend I decided that this was my solution to handle my heroin abuse, an optimum solution.

 

What were your first impressions of the Narconon program?

Arriving to Narconon was very calm and nice. The first week I received a lot of service during the withdrawal to help me get through heroin abstinence. The staff were almost like a family, I became friends with everybody right from the start. Even though I wanted to leave the program several times, I stayed for the length of the program. I could see that if I didn’t finish the program, I would come back to the same environment as before doing the same thing. And I was determined that I simply wouldn’t live a life with drugs. During my free time, I invented a lot of activities at the Narconon center, for me and the other students. We made a music rehearsal room and created a concert for the new year. We made the garden look very nice with flowers and made pavements out of big natural rocks. We started to create the space. This helped everybody to feel at home and feel belong to the place. It felt good to give back in these little ways.

What are some of your biggest wins from the program?

First, the New Life Detoxification gave me the sensation of getting a brand new body, 100% clean without any toxins in it.

Second, the communication drills gave me a silence and calmness in my space that was never there before. I started to feel very good with myself and with others. When I started the communications drills, I could sit still in a chair for only around 10-15 seconds. When I finally completed the communication drills, I was able to just be there comfortably for an indefinite amount of time. I could sit and just be there for hours. At that time, I felt I could just sit there forever without having any attention on anything. This created a big sensation of personal wellbeing.

And the third was after having advanced further in my program was the help I was able to offer new students who were starting the program in withdrawal. I was able to share my experiences with them which helped them to stay and continue doing the program.

How did you feel about graduating the Narconon program?

I felt totally rehabilitated. I felt that the problem was handled 100%. And now, I haven’t had any attention on drugs for more than 20 years. I really don’t care about drugs.

What are you looking forward to?

To keep on creating my life the way I like to live it.

What is your proudest accomplishment?

Many. For sure completing the Narconon program has helped me to start creating my life the way I like it. I have had many accomplishments but the most important is that I know that I can overcome big barriers and serious troubles if I really want to.

How is your relationship with your family now?

Today I have a nice and normal relationship with my brothers, parents, my son, and stepdaughter.

What is your favorite thing about being drug-free now?

I can create my life every day, do things I like. I am out of a trap of self-made prison and slavery.

What advice would you give to someone who is in active addiction now?

Stop immediately. It’s a total waste to be on drugs. There is nothing positive to get from it.

What advice do you have for those early in recovery?

Trust the staff, the program, be patient with yourself and everybody around you. In a few months, you can create the foundation to live the life you want without any drug addiction. A very little price to pay, to get your whole life back.