A Northern Ireland man has bravely opened up about his battle with addiction which started from a young age.
Kieren Aspell moved to Craigavon from Reading when he was four and says he always found education difficult.
Running out of school and developing severe anxiety and depression, Kieren turned to alcohol when he was 14 and then cocaine when he was 18.
Speaking to Belfast Live, the 24-year-old said he was "living in hell".
"As I started to get older I began to suffer. The alcohol and drugs made it easier for me to socialise. It made me feel more at ease and able to talk to people.
"I would have been doing it from Thursday right through to Sunday. It was all the drugs at the start and then I went on to cocaine.
"It soon progressed and got out of hand to the point where I was stuck in this vicious circle. Addiction then had a hold of my life and I couldn't see a way out. I was losing family relationships, fighting and getting into trouble with police.
"I tried so hard to stay off it but I couldn't. I rang my doctor and asked for help, he gave me the number to Cuan Mhuire Rehabilitation in Newry. It is Ireland's largest voluntary provider of addiction treatment services and residential rehabilitation."
Kieren got a place in Cuan Mhuire on September 21, 2020, and was under their care and guidance for 12 weeks.
He is now speaking out, being 14 months clean from alcohol and drugs, in hope that his story will help others to reach out for help.
"I am not doing this for sympathy, I just want to help," he added.
"Cuan Mhuire is an amazing place. I don't know where I would be if it weren't for the rehab - I'd be in jail or dead. I still have social anxiety but I am overcoming my fears each day. My family supports me and I have a lovely girlfriend Chelsea who i am so grateful for. My sister Sarah really helped me through it all.
"I would just like to say to anyone suffering from addiction - reach out. There is always a way out, trust me. Don't struggle with this disease on your own, keep the head up."
For more information or support, please visit Cuan Mhuire's website here.
