Following a pattern or paradigm inspired by nature has been the gateway of progress for human kind; for example, the notion of flight from birds, submarine from the creatures in the ocean and many more.
In today’s world, artists, businessmen, engineers…all try to sell or promote their products by presenting a model since it demonstrates their ideas and expertise to the observers. However, no model can truly reveal the actual nature of the product.
For this reason, each individual is a model for everyone else in Congress60; a street junkie who has been cured for a few years and is a successful person can be a positive model for a newcomer. Similarly, a heroin addict who is homeless can serve as a warning for cured addicts and reminds them of the eminent danger.
How are the damaged structures repaired and restored?
Body:
The most important damage caused by prolonged use of drugs is malfunction of two vital systems, the analgesic and Opioid production systems inside the human body.
According to the research done on hundreds of members of congress60 in a six year period, we have concluded that a period of eleven months is needed for the restoration of these systems; anything less than this would not be sufficient.
How one goes through these eleven months is important.
If an addict stops taking drugs suddenly, he will face numerous difficulties and malfunctions afterwards. We compare this process to a free fall which would last up to eleven months.
There is also the possibility that some of these symptoms would last for a lifetime and could be so severe that most addicts relapse.
If the patient decides to take medications to rectify these symptoms, new side effects might be added on top of the old ones.
One of the most popular drugs used in Iran is Opium which contains 25 alkaloids such as Morphine, Codeine, Narceine, Narcotine, Cotamine, and Papaverin…
If we assume that each of these alkaloids affects a different section of the biochemical structure of the body, then we can conclude that the whole system has been damaged and no single medication can act as a remedy.
We believe however, that the only substance that can actually treat all the withdrawal symptoms while doing the job of restoration and repair is Opium.
From now on we will look at Opium as a medicine and those who desire rehabilitation from their addiction, should do the same.
Up to now they have used it to get high, now they are using it for treatment and eventually perfect cure.
Opium has been a medicine for thousands of years and even now it has various medical uses only with different names.
To make the argument simpler, the eleven month period could either be painful and miserable if one chooses free fall or it could be a case of numerous chemical drugs to treat the symptoms which creates a chaos of other side effects. Or opium could be taken as medicine to treat the withdrawal symptoms and be tapered till zero gradually.
In Congress60, guides and assistant guides are in charge of the addict’s drug consumption which includes an eleven month plan, number of daily dosages and the amount of each dose. The patient does not interfere with the plan and makes no decision as far as the medicine consumption.
This tapering plan including the 21 day steps is a calculated program according to time and addict’s kind of drug. The first step in the treatment process of Congress60 is to determine the initial amount of daily drug use; this is because most people use drugs randomly and without a specific plan.
Once the patient learns to uses his medicine accordingly and on time, the tapering process begins on a 21 day intervals with a 20% reduction.
In this tapering process and upon every step, the body is induced into making up for the reduction of Opioid until it reaches the stage of 30 milligrams per day; the treatment stops at this stage and there are no more doses to take. The Opioid production system within the body has become fully functional and the patient no longer experiences any side effects.
During this time, the addict has been able to achieve perfect cure using a proper medicine with the least amount of expenses while attending to daily matters of life; no chemical drugs or hospitalization.
Psyche:
Most experts in the field of addiction believe that drug addiction is an illness of mind and spirit. They say that most problems are in the mental aspect of a patient and physical issues are dealt with much easier; they are simply stating that an addict is a psychological patient.
Congress60 however, believes that drug addiction is not necessarily a mental disability; this is because a prolong use of drugs, alcohol or narcotics has damaged vital systems within the body and since the mind and body are interconnected, the psyche is also affected.
The roots are physical and once repaired and restored, the mind will also become balanced.
We are saying that all the difficulties that an addict faces after a sudden withdrawal are physicals and are due to lack of production of natural Opioid in the body which leads to depression, hopelessness, isolation, laziness, lack of motivation towards life, insomnia and etc.
The above mentioned symptoms are the second part of the withdrawal symptoms one would face upon quitting drugs and are felt after 20 days; the first 20 days have side effects such as bodily aches, diarrhea, profound sweating, runny nose, sneezing, yawning, restlessness and etc.
Thus, we can divide the symptoms into two categories of visible and invisible.
Congress60 believes that as long as the patient tapers his drugs gradually and within an eleven month period which in turn results in restoration and repair of the vital systems within the body, the mental malfunctions would simultaneously be restored as well.
Worldview:
The third important component in a successful addiction treatment is worldview. It is the manner in which an individual views and perceives himself, others and the world around him.
An addict however, has drug influenced mentality and this affects his worldview; we call it a drug induced outlook on life. The individual looks at everything from an intoxicated angle.
Balancing this drug induced outlook is an important part of our treatment; because if this mentality does not change, it makes no difference whether the individual uses drugs or not. A successful treatment is yet to take place in this person.
This is the reason why many addicts relapse in other treatment methods after many years of not using drugs. This has led to a notion that drug addicts need long term care and control whereas in fact, it is not the case at all.
If the patient is treated correctly considering the three components mentioned earlier, he does not require constant care and control and will come clean through the most challenging situations and conditions.
In the treatment of Congress60, the addict attends training workshops (support group therapy) alongside tapering his drugs.
The only thing that can change and alter an addict’s drug induced outlook on life into a healthy, positive and drug free one, is gaining knowledge, wisdom and awareness.
This is imparted on him through his participation in group therapy meetings and understanding the nature of human, drugs and addiction.
The new ways to enjoy life, sports and physical activity, receiving support from peers who have achieved the impossible in addition to awareness of self, leads the path to the desired destination.
This is where we can claim that the addict has been successfully cured and not to have only quit drugs.
Written by: Hossein Dezhakam
Translated by: Saeed Moeini