A Wicklow man who started taking drugs in primary school has graduated university at the age of 43.
Pat O'Brien spent years in the depths of addiction after starting to experiment with drugs at the age of 11.
He first started getting high on aerosols and petrol, and it wasn't long before he started to experiment with harder drugs.
Pat told RSVP Live: “By the age of 12, I progressed to cannabis and alcohol and had my first experience with heroin at the age of 17.
"I have used a wide range of substances over the years including solvents, cannabis, LSD, Ecstasy, heroin, methadone and crack cocaine."
The Bray native's out of control behavior led to many a run-in with the law: “My using got me into trouble several times. I received charges and had court appearances over the years and got plenty of unwanted attention from the Gardai where I was constantly getting stopped and searched.” He explains.
While Pat was using, the nightmare continued. He told us: “My drug addiction led to the breakdown of my marriage. It also led me to unemployment for many years it also placed a great strain on my family relationships. It left me very disconnected from people. As a result, my mental health really suffered causing me to have severe bouts of depression. I even overdosed a couple of times. ”
The father of five made several attempts to get clean and sober but after his marriage breakup, his drug use got worse.
Speaking about the last time he used; “I had a few grams and decided to smoke it all and wondering if I would ever wake up.
I remember waking up the next morning realizing I had to get help so I took myself to an NA meeting and asked for help.”
Following on from his NA meeting, Pat then visited his doctor to discuss detoxing off methadone. They devised a plan and he successfully detoxed down from 130mls to 3mls whilst regularly attending meetings till he got his first day clean on 24th May 2015.
"A week later he joined a drug-free day program in the Spellman Centre in Ringsend.
Exercise has played a huge part in Pat's recovery and he believes it has helped aid his recovery. He says: “It was during the time of my detox that I discovered exercise. I found it very beneficial to my own recovery.
"I also got a hunger for knowledge about the disease of addiction and how I could possibly merge fitness and addiction skills together in the hope of delivering an alternative therapy."
After successfully completing his personal training course, he began a Diploma in Drug and Alcohol work in UCD last September and graduated recently.
With four and a half years of sobriety behind him, the qualified therapist has big plans for the future and a different approach to recovery.
He said: “My main objective for the future is to deliver a program that I've been working on merging the fitness and recovery together. I believe it's time to try new holistic approaches.
"I also hope to show people how to use food for medicine and how having a properly balanced diet can aid recovery. The minute you put down the substance, your life evolves."
