Seven miniatures of vodka a day and three bottles of wine - this was the daily concoction for recovering alcoholic Alex Clapp.
The dad-of-one relied on booze to drown out his struggles as he battled with an undiagnosed sight problem where he has now lost 95 per cent of vision in his left eye.
As the 'alpha male' of his family with two businesses to run, he felt he couldn't open up about his struggles and the stress of his health concern. Instead, he reached for the bottle so he could try and forget.
Alex's drinking slowly spiralled out of control which saw him become a different person, and ultimately cost him his second marriage.
This Alcohol Awareness Week, Alex is sharing his story of addiction in the hope it can help others struggling with their alcohol intake as he argues Britain has an unhealthy obsession with binge drinking.
Before becoming alcohol dependent, Alex, who remembers being encouraged to drink pints as fast as he could from the age of 13 in the pub with his older brothers, described himself as a social drinker. If he was to meet clients, he'd take them out for drinks or if he was meeting friends, they'd kick back with some beers.
It wasn't until he developed issues with his sight that his habit crept into his daily routine. In 2015 when he woke up struggling to see, he assumed it was because he'd slept in contact lenses one too many times.
But when he visited the opticians, he was put forward for further tests. After being sent to different specialists across the country, he had various treatments and injections but there was no formal diagnosis, no cause, and no cure.
Struggling to accept that he was going blind, it took a toll on his mental health. The 43-year-old, from Nantwich, Cheshire, said: "I couldn't drive, I couldn't read emails, I thought my sight was going completely.
"I've now had three lots of injections in my right eye which has managed to stabilise it. At the time, I was married, I have a son from a previous marriage, I have two businesses, Covid was starting, I was doing the house up - the stress on me was phenomenal.
"I couldn't see in the dark, I was walking into things, but I was pretending on the outset that everything was fine and trying to play the alpha male, 'I'm strong, I can still be Superman.'
"It ate me away inside. I had the fear of not being able to see anyone, these irrational thoughts - you go into dark places. I got married during the process and now I'm divorced. It has had huge ramifications."
As a busy entrepreneur, Alex lived by the mantra of 'work hard play hard'. When it came to the weekend, he'd have a drink to relax and unwind. But a few years later, drinking became more regular and he noticed quite quickly how much he wanted a drink to escape his reality.
"When you have these thoughts in your head, and you don't share them with anybody else, it's a dark and lonely place," he admitted. "And obviously, I didn't want to visit the dark, lonely place, because it's not a nice place. So I decided to use something to block it all out effectively and pretend that nothing was going on."
The social boozing happened more regularly before he then started drinking alone, progressing from the evening into the daytime too. His drinking then started earlier and earlier, from the moment he woke up, and it continued throughout the day, which he had to hide from his family and colleagues.
At the start, he shared wine with his then-partner. But when their relationship broke down 18 months after tying the knot, it became isolated drinking, with no one there to regulate. And as he moved out which saw him living alone, it became easier to lie about his drinking.
He consumed around six or seven vodka miniatures throughout the day along with a bottle of wine and then in the evening, would neck back a further two bottles of wine. Alex considers himself among the percentage of people that could still function under the influence, with a high tolerance level.
"My marriage became an unhealthy relationship. I struggled to come to terms with what was happening with my vision, I never faced it. All of my relationships became not healthy. With my son, my family, alcoholism takes you to a very, very horrible place. And it takes you there quite quickly," he continued.
"It became a massive dependency - basically as I call it, the barometer switch in my brain flipped. I went over the line and I became an alcoholic. And very sadly, up until this point, I have not met anybody who's been able to go back once that chemical change actually flicks over in your brain."
People in his team began to notice Alex becoming less reliable but he thought he was getting away with it. It wasn't until a heartfelt plea from his 17-year-old son within the past year that was the turning point. The father and son were sitting together on his parents' drive when he turned and said 'Dad you're 42 and you still need your parents. I'm 17, I need you.'
"That was the pivotal point for me," Alex admitted. "Sometimes you hear what you need to hear. You won't listen to so many people and then that one person you need to hear it from, it comes sometimes."
He had previously checked into a rehabilitation facility in Ibiza, but still struggling to accept he had a problem with alcohol, he then spent a period at Delamere - a private clinic in Cheshire, which he recognises is an extremely fortunate position to be in.
Whilst in rehab, he went cold turkey, experiencing sweats, cravings, and the shakes, and it was here where he truly realised how powerful his addiction was that had taken over his mind. He underwent treatment and learnt about the brain science to addiction, which helped his understanding.
"It's the thing you become obsessed with. It controls you and you because you become a different person because something else is in control of you.
"I've accepted that the brain has changed - once you go past a certain point that is basically when I can become a normal drinker again. Eventually, it's just gonna flip back to where I've been before. And that's okay for me now. But I fought a battle with 'I can beat this. I've beaten everything in my life.' And it was incredibly hard to accept defeat.
"I actually say that if every single person in the world had the privilege to spend a month in a rehab centre, the world would be a much better place. It takes you out of the rat race, it forces you to think about what's important, what we should be grateful for."
Alex now has a group check-in each morning with former alcoholics that he met at the facility, which he says has been valuable support in his journey to sobriety. "There's nothing better than somebody understanding what somebody else is going through.
"I think that applies to anything - whether it's anxiety, stress, or depression. I think there's nothing more powerful than having somebody who's felt the way you're feeling and somebody who's almost come out the other side or coming out the other side, to be able to sort of put their arm around you and say, 'come on, it'll be okay.'"
Alex returned home from rehab nine months ago and has remained teetotal. He now feels comfortable socialising in pubs and restaurants and simply tells people that he isn't drinking alcohol and isn't shy of letting others know he is in recovery.
"My life philosophy has changed. I'm very comfortable with what will be will be, what is meant to happen will happen," he explained. "I feel amazing. This is the best I've felt in my entire life. My new motto is that 'there is nothing I can't do sober.'
"I'm proud to have come out the other side. There are so many people who don't even admit they have a problem, the amount of people who end up dying from it or it affecting their life horrendously.
"I tell people I've been to hell, and he looked at me and said it wasn't my time yet, so he put me back and I've got a purpose now." Determined to do good and help others with their level of alcohol intake, Alex created a new company, Claritee - whose aim is to improve employee mental well-being through training programmes and sober events.
Last month, they launched their Be The Spirit dry events at St George's Hall in Liverpool, where guests had a three-course meal with entertainment acts, arcade-style stalls, and of course an array of 0% alcohol beverages. Their next event is set for Manchester in September and they've recently partnered with Nacoa - a charity for children whose parents suffer from addiction.
"Since being sober I've noticed how big our binge-drinking culture is - alcohol has become synonymous with relaxing and decompressing," Alex added. "It is often perceived as the ultimate aid in order to have fun.
"In every corporate industry, you associate alcohol with entertainment. But businesses have an obligation to look after their staff more sensibly these days. Our events take place on Thursday nights - people are coming and having a fabulous night, conversations they can remember, and are in work feeling fine before 9am on a Friday.
"For businesses, it's a no-brainer. It's just breaking the culture and that's not going to happen overnight."
Realising you have a problem with alcohol is the first big step to getting help. For information on access to services, please head to the NHS support website here. There are some organisations who can help if you have problems with alcohol - Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) - 0800 9177 650, Alcohol Change UK - alcoholchange.org.uk and more can be found here.
