A woman who became addicted to alcohol aged 13 and drank up to 200 units a week when she was a teenager says alcohol is too easily available to young people.
Aoife Bell, from Walthamstow, north London, began drinking vodka in the park as soon as she entered her teens to cope with being painfully shy.
Shockingly, the 24-year-old has been left with permanent brain damage, a scarred bladder and memory issues after her years of binge drinking.
Aoife Bell, (pictured) from Walthamstow, north London, began drinking vodka in the park as soon as she entered her teens to cope with being painfully shy
Ms Bell as a child. She says she become an alcoholic at 13 after drinking to cope with her shyness
Ms Bell said she slipped into her addiction despite coming from a loving home and being an academic success - achieving three As at A-level.
She decided to embrace sobriety earlier this year and had to go through a full medical detox to make sure the withdrawal symptoms didn't kill her.
The textiles student said: 'Alcohol was so easily accessible and it was never an issue getting it. The off-licences would always sell it to us.
'I don't want to be a sobriety preacher but it's so horrible how cheap and readily available alcohol is.
'Withdrawing from alcohol is the only drug withdrawal that can kill you, and yet it's freely advertised everywhere.'
Ms Bell has dozens of stories about things that happened to her while boozing.
She said she regularly got 'blackout drunk' and once woke up in a park with sticks in her hair and barely able to breathe after losing all memories of the previous afternoon.
She never got hangovers because she would drink all day, before calling up pals to see who wanted to go out that evening.
After two hours sleep, she would then repeat the whole sorry cycle again, losing months of her life to drinking.
Ms Bell said she and her group of school friends always felt like the odd ones out.
'I don't know why but I was a nightmare child,' she said. 'I had one sister and she was a perfect angel.
'I was just always really angry with no explanation for it.
'I was always really disruptive at school. It was when I started secondary school - up until then I'd always been painfully shy - and I didn't want to be there.
'I was quite a high achieving child and that's how I managed to get through.'
Ms Bell believes her teenage struggles with alcoholism shows the drug is too accessible to young people
Shockingly, the 24-year-old has been left with permanent brain damage, a scarred bladder and memory issues after her years of binge drinking
Ms Bell said she slipped into her addiction despite coming from a loving home and being an academic success - achieving three As at A-level
She remembers her first drink with friends - Glen's vodka - at 13. She was almost instantly completely hooked.
Alcoholic addiction, or alcoholism, describes a strong, sometimes uncontrollable, desire to drink.
Drinking becomes an unavoidable part of day-to-day life, with addicts often experiencing withdrawal symptoms if they stop.
Alcohol addiction can run in families - influenced by genes and the attitudes to alcohol when people are growing up. Other factors, such as stress or bereavement, can also be triggers.
Being addicted to alcohol can cause a whole range of serious health problems, such as heart and liver disease, high-blood pressure and strokes.
The condition is fairly common, affecting some 9 percent of British men and 3% of women, according to NHS figures.
Where can I get help?
Your GP: Family doctors are trained to deal with addictions, including to alcohol.
Drinkline: Runs a free, confidential helpline. Call 0300 123 1110.
Alcoholics Anonymous: If you need help with a drinking problem you can phone the national helpline on 0845 769 7555 or email [email protected].
'There were no other people at my school that drank, it was literally just us,' she said. 'My sister is five years older than me and even she didn't drink.
'I don't know where it came from.
'We were a bunch of high-achieving 13-year-old girls who thought we could do whatever we wanted.
'I was always really rebellious, I wanted to do whatever I wasn't meant to be doing. It was probably something to do with insecurity.
'Before, where I was really shy, I felt like I didn't really have a voice. Finally, when I found drink, I was able to be crazy and charismatic and
