John came to Nacro through Recovery Near You, our substance misuse service in Wolverhampton. He self referred into the service to begin his recovery journey.
John’s story
Growing up I first started drinking at the age of 14. I went through the usual party lifestyle that of course included alcohol and sometimes drugs. As I got older I drank more and more but didn’t really think I had a problem – I was a DJ for a living and it just seemed to come hand in hand.
At 25 I started questioning myself, as I felt it was getting out of hand. I would hide my alcohol so my wife did not know how much I was drinking. This went on for a few years and before I knew it I was in deep; I couldn’t stop, I knew I had a problem but I thought, “What can I do?”
I was overweight, holding my breath in my sleep and my blood glucose and blood pressure were through the roof (I’m a type 1 diabetic). Drugs became a big part of it too and before I knew it I was spending over £300 on a night out on cocaine, on top of my drinks.
Time for change
My Nan died in May 2013 and I decided I wanted to finally do the one last thing for her that she had always wanted me to do, which was stop drinking. I walked into Recovery Near You for help, where I had weekly meetings with my Practitioner, Tony. On October 10 after several attempts to cut down I decided enough was enough and I was quitting for good. I continued to visit Recovery Near You and, after being discharged in January, I was volunteering my time as a Peer Support Worker. I turned to fitness after quitting drink and drugs and my love grew so much that from January 1 this year I started training for a bodybuilding show, for which I raised money for Pancreatic Cancer UK and for Recovery Near You.
On 26 April this year (2022) I stepped on stage as a bodybuilder and achieved my dream. I’m now over 18 months drink and drug free and my health is loads better. It started with a visit to Recovery Near You that changed my life but, above all, I’ve proven that if I can do it anyone can.
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