Narconon is a drug rehabilitation program that was started in 1966 by a man named William Benitez. Willy was a heroin addict who was in search of an answer to cure his drug addiction. Willy went to prison for a possession charge and while incarcerated, Willy made it his mission to beat his addiction once and for all.Willy began to read self help books to help pass the time and came across one he had never seen before. It was called “Fundamentals of Thought” by Hubbard. The book was intended to help people regain lost abilities that are necessary to function in everyday life. Willy began to apply the material to himself and he saw that as he regained his abilities, his need for drugs began to go away. Willy worked on a daily basis with his book and once he was done, he began to read other books by Hubbard. He got so stable in his sobriety that he began to become inspired to help other people who were in the position that he had been in. He decided that he was going to start a drug rehab.
The Birth of Narconon
Willy wrote to Mr. Hubbard and told him of his idea to start a program for other inmates that were locked away in prison for drug related crimes. Mr. Hubbard enthusiastically wrote Willy back and also gave him suggestions of other books that would probably help these people as well.
Once Willy had all the material that was needed to help others fight their drug addiction, Willy went to the prison officials to get permission to start the program. At first Willy’s requests were denied, but Willy persisted. Finally, after countless meetings with the warden and other officials, Willy got the green light to start the program. He started out with a small group of men in the prison, but soon the program showed to be such a success that it caught on with many other inmates. After a while the program showed such potential, that the prison asked Willy to start another group outside the prison in the annex area with young men who were not in the maximum security part of the prison. It came to be that within a year Willy had two Narconon programs going at one time at the prison.
The Narconon Program
Narconon Holistic Addiction Treatment is one of the most extensive addiction treatments that one can find. Narconon approaches addiction treatment through the mind as well as the body. It is the only program that addresses the physical aspect of addiction in the way that it does, and the method used has proven to be very successful. While using drugs, drug addicts begin to get drug metabolites stored in their body. These metabolites can cause cravings in the person as well as impair their judgment, even if the person is not high at the moment. It can cause the person to feel that they are never going to be able to go through life without craving drugs and it can cause the person to wonder if they have perhaps ruined their life beyond repair. This is one of the reasons at other treatment centers the common motto is “Once an addict, always an addict.”
Narconon does not go by that motto. A student of the Narconon Program will address the physical aspect of addiction and go through the Narconon New Life Detoxification program to assist their bodies in ridding itself of the accumulation of stored drug metabolites as well as other toxins. The person will also be shown the importance of eating a healthy diet and why when someone takes care of their body they most likely will feel better. The Narconon Detox Program consists of the following.
- Eating a good breakfast
- Taking vitamins after breakfast, including the blood detoxifying vitamin called niacin
- Light aerobic exercising for twenty to thirty minutes to increase heart rate and properly deliver all vitamins, especially the niacin to all tissues, and deep within those tissues
- Sweating in a dry heat sauna on a daily basis to help the body cleanse itself of stored metabolites and toxins through the skin, the largest organ in the body that the body uses to rid itself of accumulated toxins and impurities, often stored in the fatty tissues
- Drinking large amounts of water to replenish fluids and flush out accumulated toxins
- Taking small amounts of specific oils and an emulsifier called lecithin to replace fats lost throughout the day so that the bodies metabolism does not slow down
Social and Emotional Aspects of Addiction
Once the person feels better physically, they will be more able to deal with emotional and social issues that they need to address to help them improve their stability as a drug free individual. The person deals with all aspects of their addiction. The person learns the following skills:
· skills needed to communicate effectively, they learn how to control their own emotions and how to stay positive in times of duress and while communicating with others, even if the other person is communicating in a dark or negative way
· they learn how to discern between positive and negative personalities and learn how to effectively remove negative influences out of their life
· come to terms with past misdeeds that they feel guilty about so that they can face the future with a fresh out look on life without being haunted with guilty feelings
· Learn to realize that they person that they are now is not the same person who did all those misdeeds
· Learn how to effectively repair the damage that was done in their lives and others lives due to their addiction. Learn the tools needed to continuously improve all the conditions of their lives and do so on a long term, day to day basis
· Learn how having good morals and ethics will ultimately make them feel happier and more successful in their lives
People who have graduated the Narconon program have shown a seventy six percent rate of staying sober.
