FOR many people in society, January is a particularly difficult time of year. After the joy and celebration of the
‘season of goodwill’, the homeless, the mentally ill and the addicted often remain forgotten.
For many addicts trying to stay clean, the Christmas celebrations were loaded with temptations that could spark a slide into drug or alcohol abuse and despair. For them, that one glass of wine is too much because once they start, even a thousand glasses won’t be enough to satisfy the cravings.
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is an international association of men and women who have faced drug difficulties. Similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, NA offers recovery from addiction through a 12-step programme and regular attendance at group meetings.
Ireland is currently host to 223 NA meetings. Members come from all walks of life, but there is one common thread that links them – a desire to stop using drugs.
Many NA stories are harrowing and heartbreaking, but the organisation’s success lies in the countless numbers it has guided through the path of recovery. One such person is Sean (not his real name), from Dublin. This is his story:
“My name is Sean – I’m an addict, and I’ve been with Narcotics Anonymous for the last nine years. I’ve been clean since I first went there. What led me to NA is that I had been using drugs since I was 14. I started with
‘gateway’ drugs like alcohol and cannabis and sniffing Tippex thinners and stuff.
“I got thrown out of school when I was 14. There was addiction in my family – my parents are both alcoholics and so my education wasn’t really a priority for them.
“When I got out of school, I was just left to myself, and I got up to a lot of mischief. I got into trouble with the gardai, and as I went through my teens the drugs progressed. I started taking valium, sleeping tablets, magic mushrooms etc.
“When I was about 15 a cousin of mine gave me Methadone and eventually it led to taking heroin when I was 19. I hadn’t taken heroin before because I saw people getting destroyed by it, but one night it was offered to me and I smoked it. Pretty soon I became completely strung out.
“When I started taking heroin, I began getting into more trouble because I had to start stealing for money for the drugs. I was in and out of juvenile detention. I got into a lot of trouble with the police, so ended up in prison. The day I got out of prison I took heroin again and was right back where I started.
“At some stage in 2005 I said that I’d had enough; I wanted to do something about the addiction but I just didn’t know what to do. I went onto a methadone programme, but I felt like a slave to it and just wanted to get clean.
“Eventually I decided I was going to come off heroin myself. A cousin of mine suggested coming into a treatment centre and said he’d set up a referral for me. Within two weeks of going into the centre I was clean. It was horrible coming off the heroin – the withdrawals were really bad and I was very sick.
“I had thought that once I put down the drugs that I’d be back out again, having a few drinks with my friends, but I realised very quickly that wasn’t going to be the case. I was really badly damaged – mentally, psychologically, physically and emotionally.
“I had lost any ability to cope with normal life because I’d been using drugs for so long. I never actually learned how to deal with life. When I got clean I had to think about what I was going to do with myself; how was I going to live and all those kinds of things.
“At that time I was in a relationship and had a daughter, but I wasn’t going back to the girl I was with, because she was an addict too. I also wasn’t going to go back to my family home, so I had to find somewhere to live. I started going to Narcotics Anonymous in the treatment centre, and I really got a lot out of the meetings.
“I actually thought that I was the only person who felt the way I did until I started going to NA, so it was a real eye-opener. All the decisions I had to make, the other members had made themselves, so they were able to share their experiences with me.
“I went to NA meetings every day for 90 days, got a sponsor, and when I was clean for long enough, I did some service myself, opening up meetings and things like that. We have the 12 steps and we have a book that we work through and it’s totally open to anyone who wants to attend.
“When I got clean, I did a PLC course to get back into education, then a degree in Maynooth and a masters in social science. I did some youth research for Maynooth for a while and worked for various youth services.
“I’ve never seriously considered taking drugs since I started with NA; I still get a lot of support from my sponsor, so if anything comes up, or I’m having problems I can turn to him and talk about it. NA is a fellowship – it’s not just one or two people, it’s more like a little community.
“My life now is amazing. I have a 12-year-old daughter and I’m with my partner seven years. We have a two-year-old daughter together, and she’s absolutely wonderful. I live in a really nice apartment, have a full-time job, a car and I go on holidays.
“I have a very normal life, but It’s a life beyond my wildest dreams, considering where I came from. If someone had said to me nine years ago where I could be, I wouldn’t have believed them.
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Sean has been off drugs for nine years and now works as a youth worker with people from the inner city.
Narcotics Anonymous can be contacted on 01-6728000 or Email info@na-ireland.org. Website: www.na-ireland.org.