If You Want to Know Why You’re Using Drugs, Stop Using Drugs with Ex-Addict and Founder of ADAPT Eddie Cob

Kirk and Dan are joined by Eddie Cob, founder of ADAPT a charity which helps addicts seek recovery from addiction free of charge. Eddie started using drugs at a young age and shares in this episode her own experiences of addiction, recovery and life after drug addiction including life with her heroin-addicted partner. Eddie, Kurt and Dan explore the reasons behind addiction including the inability to deal with emotions, and feelings of shame but why ultimately it is always very complicated and difficult to understand addiction, regardless of who you are, where you’re from and what you’re addicted to. KEY TAKEAWAYS Eddie founded ADAPT in 2019, firstly as a single dry house, ADAPT now has 10 dry houses. Recovering addicts often crave structure and so this is something Eddie incorporated into the houses including counselling sessions. Eddie’s support and help come from a unique place of having experienced drug addiction, she has a perspective many professionals in the space do not have. Eddie suffered from overeating as a child and teen which she now recognises as a coping mechanism and is still something she struggles with. There were a lot of feelings of shame in this for her which were further exacerbated when she was bullied badly at school. At 15 she started taking cocaine to fit in and her drug use accelerated quickly, especially when she realised it was making her lose weight. After travelling, Eddie was taking Valium and drinking a litre of vodka a day, she managed to wean herself off both of these before entering her first drug treatment centre. Addicts need love through their addiction, you can still have good boundaries with friends who are addicted whilst letting them know you are there for them. When you have been addicted you get so used to feeling numb, as soon as you’re sober you feel all your emotions at once, it can be overwhelming. Eddie got into a relationship with an ex-heroin addict, something she wasn’t aware of until he relapsed which then introduced her to a whole new side of addiction and drug taking. Addiction is about why you use not what you’re addicted to. Eddie felt the shame attached to her partner's addiction, she would do anything to try and defend and protect him. Eddie’s son Jack was born in 2016, her partner had managed to stay clean for 9 months but relapsed on the day their son was born. If you are struggling with a family member’s addiction, putting in small achievable goals or boundaries can be more successful than ultimatums. Seeing many people not getting the treatment they needed and being part of her own family that was struggling with addiction, Eddie wanted to do something to help so she founded ADAPT. After 8 years clean, the pressure of life during the pandemic caused Eddie to relapse and this time she took heroin and crack. This relapse lasted for 18 months and included an overdose.

BEST MOMENTS "When you’re in active addiction you have no structure” “I never spoke about it because I believed everything I was being told” “Find someone you trust and talk to them about it” “If you want to know why you’re using drugs, stop using drugs” “Heroin…there’s no words to describe it” “Once I get into something I can’t get out of it” “You cannot fight with the disease, there’s no winning” VALUABLE RESOURCES https://adaptoxford.org.uk/team https://www.cocaineanonymous.org.uk CONTACT METHOD Instagram Facebook Twitter

ABOUT THE HOSTS Daniel O’Reilly Daniel O’Reilly is one of the UK’s Largest Influencers, a comedian, actor, musician, viral video star and social influencer. With a portfolio of businesses Daniel enjoys a busy lifestyle mixed with business and pleasure. Daniel is a father to two beautiful girls and enjoys spending quality time with them and his wife Shelley. With 2022 being a busy year, Daniel sold out his O2 stand-up show, released his British movie 'The Last Heist' and is currently preparing for the upcoming release of his other film 'Miss The