Can a person truly come out of the shackles of drug addiction?

As I am very engaged in working with youth in drug prevention actions, I was interested in knowing more about, what can actually be done if you have ended up on drugs. Something the young activists often ask, when we meet people in the streets during our activities, who have ended up on drugs.

So when I was recently invited to visit Narconon Europe in Helsinge, I decided to go. While there, I had the chance to hear one of the students at the center, who had just completed of the full program, tell his story. I had read other similar stories — but experiencing it firsthand was something else entirely.

The young man who shared his story stood before us calm, present, and confident. He did not at all look like one of the drug addicts I too often have met in the streets. However his story showed that he had in fact been very close to ending up in the same condition – and now he stood there in front of us, genuinely looked like a new person. His journey, as he explained it, had truly been life-saving. Below are his own words, shared in the first person:

“Here I am today, having completed the Narconon program. But as with every ending, there is also a beginning.

Over the past two years, after quitting my job and going through the end of a relationship, I fell into a deep burnout. I started taking drugs and soon I was using hard drugs almost every day, mostly cocaine. I isolated myself completely — no social life, barely leaving my apartment, cut off from the outside world.

I overdosed twice and was hospitalized. Each time I was treated with medication, but the real problem was never addressed. Every time I left the hospital, my condition was worse than before.

In mid-August, my mother got a flier, mentioning Narconon Europe in Denmark and she contacted this center for help. Just two weeks later, on July 4th, I was on a plane to Copenhagen.

When I arrived, I met kind, supportive and even funny people. I began with the withdrawal phase, which lasted five days. I rested a lot, and the specialists helped me feel safe and gently brought my attention back to the world around me.

Next step was a sauna detoxification program. I sweated a lot, took vitamins, and experienced strong emotional releases. It wasn’t always easy — there were moments of anger and sadness — but I could feel real changes happening. My body felt lighter, my sleep improved and the mental fog began to clear.

After the sauna program I was ready for the next step, where I had to work together with another person on some specific actions, which helped bring my attention out of the past and into the present. This became a turning point for me. I had powerful realizations and felt calmer, more focused, more in control and started looking to the future again.

Next was a series of Life Skills courses that helped me recognize what harmful influences I had surrendered to, I got tools to help me start taking responsibility for my actions and confront the self-destructive behaviors that led me to the point, where I had been. Instead of shame, I felt relief. My soul felt lighter.

The final part, called the Conditions, gave me practical tools to analyze my life and continuously improve it. I now take time every day to reflect on where I am and how to move forward.

This program worked for me. I am deeply grateful to my mother for insisting on me going here and to the Narconon staff.

To the other students, I want to say: Do this program 100%, even when it’s hard. It’s worth it. This time is only a small part of your life — but it can change everything. You all have the ability to create a new life of happiness.”

Listening to him speak, it was clear this was more than recovery — it was transformation. Not just freedom from drugs, but a return of clarity, responsibility, and hope.

About the Narconon Program

The rehabilitation technology used at Narconon addresses substance abuse at its source and provides a path many have followed with long-term success.

For nearly 50 years, Narconon has helped individuals who were thought lost to addiction rebuild their lives. Narconon is unique in that it uses natural methods and as the name indicates, the program is done fully without use of substitute drugs, and focuses on helping individuals regain control, purpose and direction in life.

The program is based on tools and technologies developed by humanitarian and author, L. Ron Hubbard, it is a fully non-religious program and open to anyone, who truly wants to get out of the grip of addiction.

For more info check: Narconon Europe

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Giulia