Abby House, a 36-year-old mother from Gloucester, battled a secret cocaine addiction that consumed up to £1,500 a month of her income and led her into £12,000 of debt. Struggling to hide her habit from family and friends, Abby resorted to selling household items such as lamps, clothes, and shoes on platforms like Vinted and Facebook Marketplace just to afford her next fix.
Her journey with cocaine began as a teenager at a party and quickly escalated into a weekend ritual she couldn’t give up. Though Abby abstained during her pregnancies, the addiction returned each time, worsening as she turned to the drug as an escape from anxiety and depression.
At the peak of her addiction, Abby’s cocaine use extended beyond weekends to snorting it as early as 11 am, often spending entire days alone indulging in the drug. Despite being a dedicated mother and a practice manager at a doctor’s surgery, her reliance on cocaine impacted her professional and personal life severely, leading to frequent sick days and mounting debts as she used money meant for bills to fuel her habit.
READ MORE: New Gloucestershire M5 Junction Faces Uncertain Future Amid Defence Spending Cuts
READ MORE: A Sunny £15 Pub Lunch at the UK’s Longest Village Green
Abby’s kids noticed items disappearing from their home, unaware it was to pay for their mother’s addiction. She recalls the despair of thinking about continuing cocaine use into old age and feeling isolated from friends and family due to her secret struggle.
In May of the previous year, Abby reached a turning point and committed herself to recovery. She embraced self-help resources, including sobriety podcasts and books, and founded Addiction2Advocate, a social media platform aimed at supporting and inspiring others battling addiction.
Today, Abby is open about her past to raise awareness and encourage others to seek help, stressing the importance of reaching out and breaking the cycle of isolation and shame. Her message is clear: recovery is possible, and the first step is sharing your story.