Man in £80,000 of debt after harrowing cocaine addiction explains what finally made him quit
A man who ended up in £80,000 worth of debt following a cocaine addiction has spoken about the moment he quit and what pushed him to make the change.
Alex Powell, 32, started using the class A drug to help him cope after he split from his partner, however he soon started taking coke to aid with his studies and shifts as an engineer apprentice.
Before he knew it, he was spending chunks of his monthly salary on the drug, shoplifting and maxing out credit cards.
At his worst he was spending £600 a day on drugs.
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Speaking about the habit, via Sell Us Your Story, he said: "Every time I got money to get more drugs I thought it would be the last time, but once I had them in my hand I felt safe, and protected from everything bad I was feeling.
"Deep down I knew I wasn't in control, but addiction just drives you on.
"It completely rewires the reward system in your brain so the only thing you get pleasure from is the drugs."
After four years in prison for burglary, Alex was diagnosed with bipolar and declared bankrupt.
Alex explained that he 'nearly died by accident' on numerous occasions and was 'playing Russian roulette' with his life.
He said that the final straw was realising he had to stop using drugs or he would die.
"I was a total nightmare when I first got in prison that time. I was violent towards staff," he said.
"This guy had so much faith in me it was really encouraging. I went from being the worst to being really well behaved.
"I think a few things just slotted into place that time in prison. I had reached the point where I knew I had to stop using drugs or die.
"And my bipolar diagnosis helped a lot of things about me make sense.
"Now I wake up looking forward to every day."
After detoxing for two years using methadone to detox slowly, Alex is now training to be a support worker to help other addicts.
"I knew if I carried on I was going to die.
"I honestly believe that none of this would have happened to me if I'd been diagnosed with bipolar earlier and been on the right medication.
"I felt like there was something wrong and the only thing that helped with those feelings was drugs.
"My friends could just stop taking coke, but it became a real problem for me very very fast. Sometimes even my dealer would refuse to sell it to me because I was using it so quickly.
"Telling me to stop taking it was honestly like telling someone with a broken leg not to have a broken leg.
"Each day became about using, then getting money to buy more, it took over my whole life.
"Life now is so much better. I still feel stronger and stronger every day."
Lucy Devine