Sympathy and Care Lost with Drug or Alcohol Addiction
What a Drug Rehab Should Have: Sympathy and Care
As an addicted person pours more drugs or drink into his body, he becomes increasingly numb to feelings, concern or sympathy for others. He or she can become so numb that he no longer can care deeply for anything. The distress of a spouse, child or parent means little. The only thing that seems to drive him is finding his next pill or drink.
The Principles of Recovery from Addiction
![Sympathy](/FURL/data/www.narconon.org/files/www.narconon.org_drug-rehab_skills_sympathy.jpg)
In their publication “10 Guiding Principles of Recovery,” the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration describes how addiction recovery occurs best on a highly personalized path. Each addict has his own distinct needs and preferences, his own goals and background. Any substance abuse rehab program must be relevant to the addict’s life and address his personal needs so that the individual can build a new life without drugs.
The Narconon drug and alcohol rehabilitation program does not tell a person how to live a sober life - it teaches each person the skills he needs to create the sober life he wants. Every step of the program is designed to draw a person out of the disabilities that resulted from addiction and put him back on his feet. He must learn to engage with life and people once again. He must find relief from the guilt and cravings that kept him trapped in addiction. He must learn how to solve problems and must also renew his own personal moral code.
At the end of the Narconon program, a person has been given the tools to be able to help others and help himself as well. He no longer has to hide out in the oblivion of drug abuse. His renewed sympathy for others makes him an asset to his family and his community.
The Narconon Program Gives an Addict Back His Life
![Narconon Rehab Graduate](/FURL/data/www.narconon.org/files/www.narconon.org_drug-rehab_skills_rehab-graduate2.jpg)
Pat knows the changes that occur on the Narconon drug and alcohol rehab program. She was an addict for thirty years and went through many different rehabs before finding Narconon. She said, “When I was using drugs, it was very bleak. I had no desire to clean my home, to take care of my children, to take care of myself. The only thing I wanted to do is go out there and find the drugs and get high. I just survived to get the drugs.”
When she completed the program, life was amazingly different. She said, “I got life back. I now have a life where I can live happily and successfully without drugs. I wake up every morning just wanting to go out there and be alive again and it feels really good. And my family has a mother, sister and daughter back.”
The Narconon program puts families back together. It gives an addict the opportunity to live a deeply caring and happy life without drugs or alcohol.
Go back to Guidelines on Effective Recovery