Westmeath footballer Luke Loughlin has bravely shared the story of his 10 year battle with addiction.
Loughlin starred for Westmeath this season and was a key player as the Leinster county became the first ever winners of the Tailteann cup. Yet just twelve months ago, the 27-year old was in a very different situation.
"A year ago I was in a very bad place, and I had to come to terms with an addiction to alcohol and drugs," Loughlin revealed while talking to Sinead Hussey on RTE's Morning Ireland.
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"Basically, my addiction was anything that could take me out of reality. I was ruining my life every time. It was like there was a big button on my chest, 'self-destruct', time and time again."
After a decade addiction, Loughlin decided that he needed help. In July of last year, the Westmeath man entered the Cuan Mhuire addiction centre in a bid to get his life back on track.
"The day before I went in, I remember being all over the place, but I went on to Instagram and searched bodyweight workouts, and I wrote out about 30 or 40 workouts.
"I didn't think the place could sort me out, so I thought I'll bring the workouts and I'll come out of this place fit at least," he said.
"I remember doing one of the workouts the first day I was there. I was doing it in the room between two beds and someone walked in on me, and the sweat was dripping off me. I thought to myself, how am I so unfit?"
During the interview, the Tailteann Cup winner went into further detail on the effect his addiction was having on the life of those around him.
"I could go on the beer for two weeks or go missing for two weeks and missing from work. I was so consumed by what other people thought about me and about my image. I was so insecure about the way I looked," he explained.
"I genuinely got to the stage where I hated everything about myself so when I was drinking and doing drugs, I was becoming someone else but ultimately that person I was becoming was killing me.
"It was killing everything, my reputation, my family life."
Through the fine work of the people in Cuan Mhuire, Loughlin was able to learn ways of dealing with his issues.
"It changed my life. I was able to focus on myself for the first time ever. I was able to deal with the problems that I had from when I child. I was able to deal with my addiction," he said.
And one of those coping mechanisms has been exercise. Having been, in his own words, poor shape this time last year, he has taken his physical fitness to a whole new level.
"I spent so much time in my local gym, Wolfhound Fitness with the owners Joe and Katie. They were basically my aftercare. I came in here and was able talk openly and freely," he said.
"I've never left this gym in bad form. Exercise is so important. Even going for a walk, it's so good for the mind.
And of course, football has had a huge impact on Loughlin as well. Being part of a team, he has learned to be more disciplined.
"Football has been unbelievable too. This is the first year that I've made it from pre-season with Westmeath to the last game of Championship without getting dropped, without getting dropped and called back in or without doing something stupid with drink.
"To be honest I'm very proud of myself. It might sound so small to someone else but that's huge for me."
Last week, Westmeath were crowned Tailteann Cup champions after beating Cavan in the final at Croke Park. And after the full time whistle blew, there were a number of people on was on his mind.
"I thought about my mother Oonagh. I’ve put her through such hardship over the last ten years and seeing the smile on her face," he said.
"She was the first person I seen after the final whistle. She's not the biggest football fan but she's my biggest fan and my best friend. My brothers were there too. It was very special.
"This time last year a video went around of me asleep at the side of a train track. I had been on a bender for two months.
"I just thought about all the people who messaged me to say how happy they are to see me healthy and happy now."
And from a purely footballing side of things, Loughlin recognises how important the victory was not just for himself, but for the county as a whole.
"I can't put into words how good it was. There were maroon and white flags everywhere because there were times, like when we played Limerick in the league, there wasn't ten people there," he laughed.
"I just wanted to make sure that I took it all in. These things don't happen every day. I wanted to soak it all up and I'll have these memories forever.
"The Westmeath team is such a special group of people, so close. Everyone is so special. I keep saying the word special because that's what they are.
"I'm delighted we won something because it's something to show for all the hard work."
While he's in a much better place now, Loughlin knows that addiction is something that he'll battle with forever. However, through the skills that he's learned he feels more equipped than ever to tackle his demons.
"A year ago, I was so full of fear, fear of being rejected and today I still struggle with a lot of those things, but I know how to deal with now," he said.
"I can talk about them openly and I think if people did more of that we wouldn't have half the problems we have."
Loughlin has also pleaded with people, especially young men, to speak to someone about their problems. As he says himself, 'everyone has problems' and by opening up to someone, you can tackle that problem together.
"Being yourself is the most important thing in life. People are so worried about what others think but you can waste your life trying to be someone different and that's exhausting," he said.
"Everyone has problems. Everyone on this planet has problems. It's all about talking about them. This went on with me for ten years and it just got worse.
"If you are going through something, share it. You don't have to be macho. You don't have to be like that. You can show weakness, you can let things out.
"You feel so much better if you talk about stuff. I think that’s the important message."
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