New Changes, New You

This blog is a narration of a real life experience - A journey of an addict towards his reincarnation.

Drawn into an addiction, has anyone asked what is leading the youngsters to take the fondness for drugs or marijuana. We get to hear arguments from both sides, which at times does sound logical. But are they really helping the taker!

The time they should be alive and kicking, is spent trying to circumvent life.

It is not about trying out something new (experience or thing), but do appraise yourself if you would be able to say 'No' when the craving nudges you thereafter. Do you really know your inner strength, will it be strong enough to overpower the Euphoric recall. Give it a serious thought before you indulge!

Similar was the life experience of Den.

As he shared his experience, I realized that the circumstances that goaded him into addiction are multifaceted. Troubled childhood (social unrest in family could suck the oxygen out of a child's life) or subconscious clinging to wrong inspiration in family (may be an alcoholic father) or in ones surrounding (role models); these experience of hard times as a child embedded in the subconscious can act as a boost. Then there are friend's who further help you walk over the remaining nine yard.

As a teenager, good in studies and sports, Den decided to take a separate living space. The family supported his decision seeing him as a responsible child, giving him a breathing space. Was it a noble decision, really hard to say.

Den had more elder friends than his own age, and the sequence of parties started happening at his place. This was just the start!

16 is a very tender age, with no or limited supervision of parents one can be led into the direction which he/she is not expected to walk at that age. The company that one takes makes or breaks him/her, unless he/she is strong willed, however there are very few of them.

When he tasted drug for the first time, it was an explore considered by him to be manageable. He wanted to look cool amid his friends. What started as fun and enjoyment, a teenage call, eventually consumed him.

He distanced himself from his family and his well-wishers. He had cocooned himself in his own world stoned and aloof. The definition of world had changed for him, everything which used to be manageable for this youngster in the past suddenly toppled and turned upside down creating a havoc in his life. He dropped out of school lost all interest, expect the indulgence.

The first time, it was his family who forced him to join the rehabilitation center. It was not at his will and acceptance, he had not yet realized. The result was predictable, there was a relapse. The friends were the same, the surrounding was the same - alcoholic father and subsequent sufferings. Nothing had changed in his life, nor did he see any motive to change.

When one steps out of such rehab programs, one should completely abstain from taking any form of intoxication, even if it has the lowest alcohol content. In such situations, an intake of a bottle of breezer can also trigger the urge.

He was again send to rehab, but this time he somehow manage to escape from the center. He thought he could do it without help. Addiction makes a person stubborn and also inflates his perception making him believe that everything is in his control. There are only a limited few who break out from these shackles on their own. Majority lie within the circle of suppression, where they shy away to ask openly for help. This is why in such programs family and well-wishers have to play forward.

Eventually, it was time that made him come face-to-face with his sinking reality. Friends moved on, batch-mates progressed, but Den was still stuck at the forsaken place breathing inside him. It took him 8 long years to realize his helplessness. There is no other better way to express this, than to quote his words - "I wasn't taking drugs, drugs was taking me."

Self realization made him retrospect his family situation, this time Den found a motive in his life. He aimed to help his father get out of the alcoholic addiction, however to do so he had to change, become the new him. Let's say, he had to reincarnate himself in his old body.

Den feels grateful to his family for understanding his unsaid words (words that said I am willingly asking to be sent to the rehab). At such dire times it was his family who supported him.

Den talks about the 2 type of programs that are usually run in such rehabs, the NA program and AA program. NA stands for narcotics anonymous and AA means alcoholic anonymous. Den enrolled himself for the NA program.

"There is no self will, you have to work in God's will" this is what the programs aim to teach at the rehab.

He shares his experience in the rehab center as being one of a kind, a completely new and unalike to real life living. Your freedom is not yours anymore, you can't even move without the permission of the in-charge or the staffs at the center. In the present situation, Den put's it as 'being powerless'. Which he says is a positive word.

There is a routine that one needs to follow at the center. The initial days were hard on him, he confesses that it was because of his withdrawal from drugs topped by the pressure enforced upon him by the staff. Withdrawal brings an overwhelming cravings for the drugs, the toughest phase for an addict.

He mentions that the staff at such centers are professionals, they really know how to deal with addicts and alcoholics who are rebels. However they are show compassion and softness to those who agree to the rehab's rules and procedures.

"The inspiration to take the drug is also the inspiration to leave it, i.e. Hard Times." What an irony!

Over the course of time, the fellow addicts and the staff felt like family for Den. "Sharing the hard times with them is a one of a kind feeling, it makes us connect with each other." He exhibits immense believe in the rehab " I can trust this place, if I am there.. I will live and won't die".

Sharing your feelings can connect you with each other in a completely different level. How true! Quite applicable for sober people too. How many of us really share our feelings, whether it is with our partners, our parents or our friends. Are we really connected?

Den felt rekindled as he submitted himself completely to god's will. Rehab teaches one how to live with the program. As his 3 months treatment phase advanced, gradually the situations started to stabilize for him. Routine became his lifestyle.

"Before going there, my life was unmanageable, but later as a 'New Me' my relationship with family, relatives, friends and society smoothened out and is progressing well even today. I feel Happy and Alive."

Experiential Learning's from Den's Life:

It all starts for fun, and eventually becomes your most dreaded sickness.

Your Will say's - you can get out of it alone, but unintentionally you have already become dependent, as your body becomes dependent on drugs.

Your dependence to drug goes to a magnitude of enslavement. You tend to lose out or are ready to lose everything for it.

Submit your complete self and you will live free. Don't hesitate to ask for help.

Know that one shouldn't take any form or choice of substance post rehab, as it may make you unmanageable again.

Don't be afraid to face the people around you, don't shy out. You had the strength to face yourself, you are a hero who bravely walked the journey to reincarnation.

Post rehab you are never alone, there are so many recovering addicts and you can get help from them. So reach out.

"Rehab is just a practicing field, the game starts when you are outside it."

Disclaimer, all views expressed are my own and based on my friends experience before, during and after rehab.

#lifestyle #reinventyourself #learning #healthyliving #personaldevelopment #drugabuse #addiction