A Northern Ireland man who was once addicted to pure cocaine and Diazepam tablets, has been promoted in his job.
Lee Wright has now been 20 months clean from the drugs which took over his life and caused fractions in his family and friend relationships.
The vicious cycle also saw the young man from Ballymena thousands of pounds in debt and in fear of leaving his home in case he bumped into anyone he owed money to.
Read more: Teen turns life around after hitting rock bottom with prescription drugs
Speaking to Belfast Live about his journey through the dark days to success in his career, Lee, 27, said he's come a long way.
"I had a really normal childhood and everything was good and happy," he said.
"When I got to high school, things started to go down hill from there. I would get in trouble all the time and was hyper all the time, then I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was around 13.
"As I progressed through high school, things got worse and I would hang out with ones who were older than me. I then fell into drugs.
"I would have been in circles with older ones who would have taken drugs. I was always partying and going on binges when I was 16, 17 and 18.
"I was taking ecstasy and meth all the time. About eight years ago I started taking pure cocaine when it came on the scene. The cocaine got really bad - it started off where I was enjoying myself and going out all the time. Then it got hold of me.
"At one point I was taking hundreds and hundreds of pounds worth of it a day, getting into major debts."
Lee says the cocaine was turning him into someone he wasn't and made him take panic attacks quite often.
He also recalled developing psychosis where he'd be "losing touch of reality" and believing people were out to get him and breaking into his home.
"It became very dark," Lee said.
"I would binge on it for four or five days at a time, without eating or drinking. Just taking cocaine. Then when I was coming down off it, I would move on to prescription drugs, more so Diazepam.
"Cocaine really took over my life. Whenever I was introduced to pure cocaine, I was still able to go out and enjoy myself but then in 2015 I noticed a huge downfall. That carried on into 2019.
"They were dark, dark, dark years for me. It didn't only affect me, it was bringing trouble to my parents. I was in so much debt, tens of thousands of pounds worth of debt.
"It was hard for me to even go out of the house without bumping into somebody that I owed money to. It was just awful. I couldn't hold a job down, and I did have a good job, but I lost it because of the drugs. I was in trouble with the police too."
Lee says when he hit rock bottom, he knew he had to change his life - he had watched as some of his friends died after taking drugs.
Today, he has just secured a promotion at his workplace and is celebrating wins in life he never thought he would see.
"In October 2020 I thought, 'That's it, I am done with this' and I done it.
"Every day I would wake up feeling better than the previous day. After one month I really could feel a difference and now I feel fantastic.
"I have been cleaned from cocaine and Diazepam for 20 months and I am really proud of myself. I am beginning to build relationships back.
"My whole family has stuck by me the whole time and as I have got off the drugs, I have got much closer to them. I am appreciating life a lot more now.
"I got a new job too and am still here two years later and was promoted to site supervisor. It seems like things are on the up for me and I am really happy."
Anyone who needs to talk to someone about mental health issues can call the Samaritans on 116123 or Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 .
Read more: My addiction hell: NI man's journey from self destruct to finding peace
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