Leanne is someone who loves music, being around people and finding connection through shared experiences. These days, that might look like going to sober music events, spending time with family, reading or supporting others in recovery. She’s the team manager of an outreach service in Lancaster and Morecambe, helping people facing some of the same struggles she once experienced herself.
But Leanne’s journey to this point has been far from straightforward.
From a young age, Leanne remembers living with constant anxiety. Growing up around family conflict and instability meant she was always on edge, always expecting something bad to happen. Looking back now, she recognises those early experiences had a huge impact on her mental health long before she ever used drugs or alcohol.
As a teenager, she began using amphetamines and alcohol as a way to cope.
She explains:
“It got rid of the anxiety, It gave me confidence and quietened my mind. At the time, it didn’t feel like addiction. It felt like survival.”
Over time, though, the drugs and alcohol became a crutch. What began to manage overwhelming emotions slowly escalated into dependency. Leanne experienced severe anxiety, depression, emotional distress and periods of psychosis linked to substance use. She describes hearing voices, experiencing paranoia and struggling to separate what was real from what wasn’t. Throughout much of her journey, Leanne found that her mental health and addiction were treated separately. Services often focused on one issue at a time rather than recognising how deeply connected they were.
She said:
“Back then it was always, ‘get clean and sober first, then we’ll deal with the mental health.’ But the reason I was using in the first place was because of the mental health and trauma.”
Her story highlights the reality of co-occurring conditions, sometimes called dual diagnosis, where mental health challenges and substance use exist together and impact one another. For Leanne, untreated trauma, anxiety and low self-worth fuelled her addiction, while the addiction itself worsened her mental health. There were times when things became extremely dangerous. Leanne experienced overdoses, homelessness, abusive relationships, violence and repeated hospital admissions. She also faced stigma and situations where services simply didn’t know how best to support someone struggling with both addiction and mental health difficulties at the same time.
Despite this, there were people along the way who made a difference. Outreach workers, recovery staff, women’s support services and therapists helped Leanne begin to understand the trauma behind her addiction rather than seeing her only through the label of ‘addict.’
Therapy became a turning point. For the first time, Leanne began unpacking years of fear, trauma and emotional pain.
She says:
“It helped me understand why I used substances in the first place. We only scratched the surface, but it made me realise there were reasons underneath it all.”
Looking back now, she recognises that treating the addiction alone was never enough. Both needed support together. After years of escalating addiction and deteriorating mental health, Leanne entered detox and rehabilitation again. This time, things slowly began to change. She has now been clean from drugs, alcohol and prescription medication for over six years.
Today, Leanne continues to manage anxiety and low self-esteem, but she’s developed healthier ways of coping. Recovery meetings, women’s groups, support networks, meaningful work and helping others all play an important role in maintaining her wellbeing. She’s honest that recovery doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes easy.
She said:
“I still have to work on myself every day. “I still get overwhelmed sometimes, but now I know how to ask for help instead of hiding from it.”
Working in mental health and recovery services now feels like a full circle moment. Leanne uses her lived experience to support others facing co-occurring mental health and addiction challenges, particularly people who may feel misunderstood or written off. “Nobody sets out wanting to become addicted to something. There’s usually pain underneath it. People need support for both their mental health and addiction together, not separately.”
Leanne hopes that by sharing her story, others will feel less alone and more able to reach out for help.
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Leanne's image has been supplied by Waythrough.
