A former soldier who 'hit rock bottom' drinking nine litres of cider and whisky a day has told how he turned his life around after his addiction nearly killed him.
Joseph Rimmer said at his lowest point, he would drink alcohol '24/7'. He would wake up and have a 'few swigs of cider' before going back to sleep, then would drink litres of booze throughout the day while 'functioning, he told the Liverpool Echo.
He struggled with alcohol addiction for 20 years, he said. He would go on nights out with his fellow Royal Green Jackets and said the army 'had a massive drinking culture'.
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But he said his addiction became worse after leaving the force in 2004. Joseph said: "My average day consisted of nothing but drinking, 24/7. When I was awake, I drank.
"When I woke up in the morning, I'd have a few swigs of cider and go back to sleep. I had to have at least half a bottle before I could function."
His mounting addiction began to take its toll on his family life: his marriage broke down, he lost contact with his children, and he was later arrested for stealing money from his parents to buy alcohol. Joseph, who served in the Kosovo War, and in Bosnia and Germany, said: "When I left the forces, that's when my problems really started to come out.
"The army has a massive drinking culture. When I left, that's when I struggled. I was trained to be a soldier, to hide my emotions, so when I left I couldn't cope with the outside world. That's when my drinking really started to hit off, and it started affecting my family, my wife, my children.
"For many years I battled with it. There were times I abstained, but it always came back to me. I went to rehab in 2016 and I was OK for a while in that environment, but as soon as I came out I relapsed straight away."
The situation only worsened in 2017, when he lost his mother to lung cancer. He said: "That's when I exploded. I was drinking about 9L of cider a day and whisky on top of that.
"A normal person would have been knocked out, but I was functioning. My body had become so reliant on it.
"I was only drinking, not eating, for about three months. I was sleeping in my own vomit and urine."
By October 2018, he said, his life had been reduced to nothing but lying in bed and drinking until he lost consciousness. It was then he received a desperately needed wake-up call after he collapsed in his home, and was rushed to hospital with severe liver and kidney failure.
He said: "I still vaguely remember the paramedics in my bedroom. When they got me downstairs, I remember the woman paramedic taking one look at me and saying we need to get him to hospital as soon as possible.
"I remember the doctors saying they didn't know if I was going to make it. I could feel myself dying. I was pretty much on my last rights - but somehow I'm still here."
After spending three months recovering in hospital, the dad-of-two vowed to turn his life around, and signed up for Alcoholics Anonymous. Four years on, he is now stone-cold sober, and an official AA armed forced liason officer, supporting other ex-soldiers who have fallen into addiction.
He said: "I couldn't walk for a long time after leaving hospital. I was physically gone. OK, I thought, there's no going back. I was literally on my hands and knees crying for everything to be gone. I needed this compulsion lifted from me.
"I went to AA and I kept going back. I got a sponsor, we went through the 12 steps and that's when I gradually started to change as a person.
"When I look back at how I used to be, it's incredible to think how much I have changed. When I was drinking, everything revolved around me. I blamed everyone around me, but at the end of the day, I was the one who decided to drink. I had to learn how to hold myself accountable.
"I turned four years sober on October 28 this year. My life has improved a lot; I still have my moments but I never get that compulsion to have a drink - and that's the miracle of it. I'm one of the lucky ones, and there's not many of us, but it doesn't have to be that way.
"I'm at peace today knowing my mum and dad would be proud of me. I've got my kids back in my life, and my friends. I was pretty much at rock bottom back then, and since then I've created a new life for myself.
"I just wanted to get the message out to people who are struggling and say we can all recover. If I can help someone or save someone's life by telling my story, I'll be happy with that."
You can find out about alcohol support services in your area on the NHS website.
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