From Rock Bottom to Real Recovery

My name is Pepa, and for the first time in decades, I’m living life without drugs — and actually enjoying it.

Growing up, I was labeled with every learning difficulty imaginable: dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia. On top of that, I was diagnosed with ADHD and put on medications from a very young age. I didn’t feel helped. I felt like something was wrong with me — like I didn’t belong. By age 12, I had stopped trusting people entirely. I figured the world had already given up on me, so I gave up on it too. That’s when the substance use began.

It started with alcohol and marijuana… and escalated fast. By 15, I was injecting methamphetamine. Soon after, I was mixing in LSD and other hallucinogens. At one point, I decided it would be easier to manufacture the drugs myself than to keep buying them.

I checked into my first rehab at age 20. It was a facility that relied heavily on sedatives and sleep meds. I didn’t feel better — just numb. After four more years of dragging myself through life, I hit a breaking point. I genuinely believed that death might be the only escape from the pain I was carrying.

Then came the turning point: Narconon.

I didn’t show up planning to get clean. I went just to “see what it was about.” But something told me to stay — and that decision changed everything.

The withdrawal phase was brutal — cold sweats, muscle cramps, panic attacks, shortness of breath. But at Narconon, it was different. They used natural supplements, Cal-Mag, and a unique technique called “locationals” that helped pull me out of my head and back into the present. That support made all the difference.

Then came the New Life Detox — a deep cleanse that helped me flush out years of toxins. Thank you, Elli and Louis, for walking me through it.

After that, I moved into the training routines and objectives. These helped me rebuild focus, presence, and self-discipline.

The final step was Life Skills. Two courses stood out: Overcoming Ups and Downs and Personal Values. That last one hit me hard — in a good way. I had to confront how my addiction had impacted others and the world around me. It was emotionally intense, but deeply healing.

Thank you, Hana, Davide, and Denis, for guiding me through those breakthroughs.

Now, after more than 25 years of addiction, I’ve been clean for 7 months — a personal record — and I feel genuinely good most days.

I’ve started to understand who I am — not the labels, not the mistakes, but the real me.

I’ve reconnected with my family and discovered something I never had before: a sense of purpose.

I didn’t need a single pill to get here.

Thanks to Narconon, I’m not just sober — I’m alive again.

And I know exactly what I want to do next: help others find their way back too.

The future feels open, bright, and full of possibilities.

Yes, the Narconon program really works.

From the bottom of my heart — thank you.

—Pepa K. Narconon Graduate