A woman who would drink two bottles of vodka a night after work has told of how her alcohol addiction 'almost killed her'.
Dawn Gadsby was warned at the age of 18 by a close friend that she had a problem with alcohol, after she realised Dawn "turned into a different person". Shrugging it off at the time, it took Dawn another 24 years to confront her addiction and give up alcohol for good.
The 50-year-old woman from Southport was "shy" and "felt like a misfit" while completing her A-Levels and starting university, but said after a drink she would become "more confident, bubbly, and popular". From there, her drinking grew and grew.
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Dawn told The ECHO : "Nobody goes into life thinking they're going to become an alcoholic, alcohol is such a sneaky insidious drug and the nightly glass of wine went up to the bottle fairly quickly. A bottle turned into three bottles, and when my tolerance built up I switched to spirits to get that kick I wanted.
"I drank nearly two litres of vodka every day for several years. I was living that sophisticated advert, I bought my own flat at 25 and had the company car."
Dawn was working as a marketing executive but said the job "didn't sit well" with her. The constant drinking led her to have a full nervous breakdown at the age of 30 and she lost her job.
She said: "I was good at my job but it didn't sit well with me, my whole life was my work and I would commute for an hour. My treat was to have a drink when I got home each day and it was a recipe for disaster.
"One time I collapsed in Leeds Train Station and woke up in the hospital, I also collapsed in Southport NCP car park. Whenever I tried to stop the withdrawal was the worst, I had the shakes for 36 hours straight, would be vomiting and hallucinating."
On April 9, 2014, aged 42, Dawn looked at herself straight in the bathroom mirror and asked herself "What are you doing? You really are worth more than this. You are a really nice person, why are you doing this?". The same day she rang for help and hasn't touched alcohol since.
She said: "I will never forget the first day in talking therapy and actually thinking to myself 'oh my god, people know and understand what I am going though and I am not alone'. I then started volunteering for the charity and then worked for them."
Now Dawn says she doesn't struggle with addiction, but sometimes gets "very strong" cravings for alcohol. She is able to go out to pubs and bars, and says her new drinks of choice are lime and soda or a Pepsi Max.
Eight years later, Dawn has founded her own recovery hub in Southport called The Recovery Circle, with the aim of helping other people who are suffering from addiction. The hub offers a number of services, including talking therapy support groups, one-to-one counselling, peer mentoring and educational workshops.
She told The ECHO : "We believe in an open door policy, we deal with concurrent addiction and mental health needs and work closely with the NHS Alcohol Teams and social services. I want people to know that there is a life after alcohol addiction, and life is good.
"At the time I felt so lonely, I felt like I was the only person in the world going through this. My mum and dad tried so hard to get me help, but it was only me that could do it."
To find out more about The Recovery Circle, click here.
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