A North Belfast man has said that he feels like he has a "new lease of life" after overcoming drug and alcohol problems that had been "ruining his life".
Ryan Maguire was eight years old when he first started "sniffing glue", leading him down a dark path of substance abuse that it would take him years to finally get off.
Speaking to Belfast Live, the 32-year-old from the New Lodge area said that he began drinking alcohol before the age of 10 and spent most of his teenage years "sniffing anything he could get his hands on" before being introduced to harder drugs like cocaine and pregabalin later in life.
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He said that during these years his life was chaotic and he could disappear for days at a time "on a bender", with his behaviour having a huge impact on his family relationships.
Ryan said: "I was introduced to drugs when I was just eight years old and started sniffing glue with things getting so bad that I ended up in the Mater Hospital getting my stomach pumped.
"Not too long after that I got black out drunk for the first time and I was sniffing any solvent that I could get my hands on.
"Things just got worse from there and by the time I was 14 I was smoking a lot of weed and began trying other drugs like ecstasy, cocaine and other pills.
"I continued like this for years and then in my 20s I was stabbed in the wrist during an incident and ended up getting a claim off the back of it. I completely wasted all of that money on cocaine and got to the point where I was doing half an ounce of it every night.
"Then when the money ran out I turned to prescription pills like pregabalin and was doing dozens of them a day.
"Because of my drug habits I ended up being physically unwell and having massive struggles with my mental health and I had to be admitted into hospital with psychosis.
"My relationship with my mum was almost destroyed due to the constant stress that I was putting her through. She was completely tortured by my behaviour and the way that I would disappear for days at a time, she thought that I was going to end up dead."
Ryan said that he eventually reached a point in his life where he knew he had to turn away from drink and drugs and after a tough battle he has now been clean for nine months and says that he feels like a new man.
He said: "Since getting off drink and drugs I have never been happier and feel like a completely new man.
"It is like a virus has been removed from our family as there is no more fighting and chaos and my mum is finally able to get a bit of peace.
"My relationship with her has improved so much and I now feel like my dad is able to respect me now because I have shown that I have been able to turn my life around.
"I now have money that I am able to spend on things that I need, when before it would have been wasted. I am getting out for more walks and exercise, have discovered hobbies that I really enjoy doing and have started Twitch streaming video games and found that it is something I really enjoy doing.
"I just want to get the message out there to others that it is possible to get away from your addictions and do more with your life. I know that it is very difficult and the cravings are hard to get over, but it is so worth it in the end and I feel like I now have a new lease of life and have never felt this good in my life."
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