I'm a 22 year old Australian and I was a regular drug user for 10 years, I'm now sober. Here's my story.

Hey everyone. I'm doing this on mobile so it's going to be a long and messy post. Sorry. I'm hoping this will be beneficial in some way to someone. I chose to do this because I know there are a lot of young people on this sub. Please bear in mind I'm not necessarily saying all drugs are bad, but I'm just sharing my story.<br><br>tl;dr at bottom! <br><br>&#x200B;<br><br>I first started drinking when I was 11, and smoking cannabis at 12, and continued doing this right through high school with a group of friends. Before I turned 18 I had already had many drug experiences with MDMA and cocaine. From 18 I was going out every weekend and drinking to excess and taking whatever drugs were offered. I smoked weed every single day. I never felt like I needed to slow down. In fact I felt I needed to speed up. I was studying full time and in my third year I was elected deputy president of a society on campus. I was also working casually in retail. I got elected deputy president when I was 19. When I turned 20 I also started going out during the week as well as I had way too many disposable income. I continued doing this right through until I was 23. During this time I started developing intense migraines and would get extremely dizzy. I would vomit a lot in the mornings and was so sensitive to sound and light. This didn't stop me though and I just kept going. I was elected president in my final year of my bachelors degree. I was still smoking weed daily and drinking to excess, all while juggling a full time study load, full time work load and running an entire society. At this point I was making a lot of mistakes with my money and I would often wake up the next morning with no recollection of how I got home. I also woke up on someone's couch with no idea how I got there. This was the turning point for me. I didn't enjoy drinking or taking drugs anymore, but I was addicted. I continued doing this for another year post finishing university. I lost count of how many times I almost died. Eventually, when I was 21, I was offered a job interstate in a field related to my study, and with a much higher income. It was a massive opportunity but I still went out drinking and taking drugs. I got extremely ill after a night out when I was 22 and I was bed bound for two weeks. I didn't touch a drug for the entire two weeks and that's when I started to feel like myself again. It was the strangest feeling. I could walk without feeling dizzy, I wasn't sick, I didn't wake up vomiting, I was more confident, I was focussed and I felt happy for the first time in years. I knew I couldn't go back so I made the decision to completely stop. I cut off certain friends, I stopped going out and I threw myself into my job. I feel so much better now and I'm so happy I made the decision. My life has completely turned around and I'm doing things I love, I'm doing well financially and I'm studying a masters degree. <br><br>I'm not saying drugs are bad for everyone. Some of you will be able to use them recreationally with no issues. However for me it wasn't like that. It completely ruined my life and I feel like I wasted my teenage years and early 20s. I'm now 25 and it's taken me 3 years to get my life back together. If you're young and using drugs regularly, please just be careful. <br><br>Tl;dr I used drugs for 10 years and it ruined my life and I feel I wasted a decade. Don't make the same mistakes I did.