Life in Disarray: James Deakin

When he was selling drugs, James used to ‘look down his nose at addicts’, considering them weak-willed. But life has its way of turning you into the person you once said you’d never become. Within a year of first trying cocaine, he was seriously addicted to the drug. He was funding a £2,000 a week habit by his drug-dealing, until supply of the drugs he was selling was cut off.
James goes on to describe how he was in hiding from Manchester hoods and was then person non-grata in the city. [You can listen to the lead-up to this situation at • Escape & Capture: Jame... ). He suffered severe anxiety and paranoia at times-‘when people are trying to kill you, I think it’s a legitimate feeling’-and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown for a couple of years. It took him a few years to be able to manage the anxiety. Today, he can rationalise and manage things when he wakes up with symptoms that are commonly labelled as ‘anxiety’. James Deakin is Founder of North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC). 19 June 2023.