The first time I got drunk I was 11. I went to a mate’s house and we drank some gin. At about 14 I started drinking regularly. At first it was a right laugh. But then I’d feel skank the morning after.

I moved on to drinking heavily about four or five nights a week. I’d start in the afternoon and carry on until 11 or 12 at night. I even started turning up to school half-cut. I was spending all my money on drink.

Becoming a father

I was taking drugs too, mostly weed, and I was always stoned. It affected my schoolwork because I was always tired and hung over. It caused trouble between me and mum, and with my girlfriend too. Then my girlfriend got pregnant and she had our baby three months premature. He had to go in an incubator and because I was really stressed out over this I drank even more.

The Under 19s Substance Misuse Service (U19s SMS)

The school could see I had a problem and so they got in touch with the U19s SMS to arrange for a worker called Karl to see me. Karl started coming to the school about a year and a half ago. He’d come a couple of times a week to do drug testing with me and to talk.

He’d tell me all the different effects alcohol was having on my health and stories about things he’d seen happen to people because of drink and drugs. He opened my eyes to lots of things, like how much I was spending on drink, and he helped me focus on what else I could spend my money on instead. I trusted him and felt like he talked me round. I was sick of having no money .and since becoming a dad I felt a new responsibility. I wanted to be around to see my son grow up.

My future

Things started to get better and I managed to go without drinking at all for a few weeks. This was hard as I’d been used to cracking open a drink as soon as I finished school. Things are different now. I still have a drink maybe once a week on Friday night, but only for an hour or so. I’m doing my GCSEs this year and I work part-time on a farm. I feel a lot more positive about my future now.

Getting help

It’s hard to give advice to any other young person out there who’s got a problem with drink because when you’re doing it you don’t want to listen to anyone. But I’d say that if you’re drinking heavily more than once a week you need to get help like I did, before things spiral out of control.

Joe,* 16, from East Sussex

*Names have been changed in this story

What do you think of Joe's story? Leave a comment.

Do you have a real life story to share? Submit a real life story.