Annabel’s story - How I got my life back
‘I couldn't stand the thought of going into rehab, but a friend of my brother's recommended contacting personal addiction therapist Adrian Rides. I had no idea what to say when I first called him, so I just blurted, “I think I need some help.” Within a few hours we were both sitting on my sofa having a cup of tea.
‘Adrian turned my life around. He uses a combination of counselling, visualisation and complementary therapies, such as acupuncture. I came off cocaine straight away although I was still smoking weed for a while and whenever I had a craving, I could call Adrian to talk me through it and bring me back into the present moment. During the first few weeks, I lost count of the number of times I'd call him each day.
‘I had incredible support from my friends and family and found a new boyfriend, Chris, who has never touched drugs in his life. But it all went horribly wrong in May, when I went to a wedding and took coke again. I woke up the next morning and couldn't believe how destructive I'd been. My friends were really disappointed in me and Chris and I broke up for a month.
‘But now I'm finally starting to turn my life around. My relationship with my son is better than ever. I've started studying for an MBA. Chris and I are back together and we do nice ‘couply' things like walk by the river and paint window boxes. It feels amazing just to get a proper night's sleep but I still can't wake up and watch the sunrise without thinking of how I only ever used to see it when I was on my way home.
‘I still think I've got a long way to go, but I'm getting there. My advice to anyone else who has a drug problem is to seek help and believe in yourself. Deal with each day as it comes; what's done is done and the future's something we can't control. I feel I've been given my life back and found out the hard way what's really important.'
