“The course is going so well, I am so thrilled with the changes that we are seeing in the lives of the attendees. You can tell that people are relieved to be in a safe place where they can share their struggles.”

In Spotlight, we are handing over this space to those on the front line running courses so that they can, in their own words, share their experiences and lessons learned of running the course, providing hope, support, and guidance to those in need.

A study by Dignify, a charity based in Hertfordshire that researches sexual abuse, has found that a substantial number of UK teenagers aged between 14 and 18 have been watching pornography frequently, with some saying that they think they are now addicted.

My problem with gambling started when I was 20 or 21 and still at university and things were beginning to go a bit wrong. My results were not as good as I wanted them to be and I think that's the first time I noticed that gambling was something that I was starting to do

I don’t think we can get through life without feeling pain at some stage. But it’s how we deal with it that matters. I dealt with it really badly and found an escape in online gambling. It started with a harmless £5 free bet, but over the course of three years, I had lost everything.

As an ex-heroin addict with almost 32 years clean under my belt, I know the value of freedom. I also know the struggle that is involved on many levels. I suppose it can start with facing the denial that many addicts live with and then risking the belief that you could be free.