Former Footballer Uses Rehab Treatment Centre to Help Those Fighting Addiction

The negative stereotyping around addiction means that many people believe that those affected by this illness are always from a deprived background or have links to the criminal underworld. This could not be further from the truth; addiction is an illness that can affect absolutely anyone. It does not matter how old you are, what gender you are, where you come from, or how much money you have; addiction does not discriminate. While those who are affected by addiction may come from various backgrounds and may be completely different in terms of where they live and what they do, one thing they all have in common is a need for rehab treatment to get better.

Learning from Experience

One man who has experienced the pain and destruction of addiction is former professional footballer Matty Turner who once played for England alongside the likes of Michael Carrick and Joe Cole. Now thirty-five years of age, Matty has experienced the highs and lows of professional football and is helping others who have found themselves in the same position that he once was.

He wants the public to know that addiction is a common problem among professional footballers. According to Matty, many stars are hiding crippling addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, and legal highs, and he has set up his own rehab treatment organisation to help.

The good news is that most Premier League clubs are now willing to address the issue rather than hiding it as has happened in the past. Nevertheless, Matty is keen to point out that sports psychologists are often the wrong people to help with tackling addiction in players. He said, “They can help with the here and now but often fail to identify the root cause of addictions.”

Saving Others

Matty says he is not ashamed to admit that he struggled with gambling, alcohol and drug addictions during his time as a footballer. He is now using his experiences to save others from suffering the same outcome. He explained his reasons for setting up his rehab treatment organisation: “When I was at rock bottom, I’d have gone to China to get help, I was so desperate; I’m doing this because I’ve been through it.”

Matty was a part of the Nottingham Forest academy and played with many of the sport’s well-known stars including Michael Dawson and Jermaine Jenas. However, he has memories of another player who he believes was good enough to play for the likes of Manchester United. Keith Foy was a first-team player at Nottingham Forest before his career took a nosedive because of a gambling addiction.

Speaking of his own time as a player, Matty said, “I became a bad apple and began to rub everyone up the wrong way; in the end, I literally forced myself out of the club.”

He struggled on at a number of clubs, unable to shake his addictions until an Achilles injury ended his career. Without football, his problems worsened, and he admits that he spent his days drinking, taking cocaine, and gambling.

Overcoming Addiction

Like many other rehab centres across the country, Matty’s rehab treatment centre is staffed by those with their own experience of addiction. He said, “The only people who can actually help you properly in such a situation are ones who’ve experienced the same themselves.”

And when it comes to beating any type of addiction, professional help is often the answer. Depending on the kind of addiction and the severity of it, you may be advised to complete a medical detox to be separated from the substance you have been relying on for so long.

It is a good idea to consider a supervised detox in a dedicated facility because the risk of complications is always present when it comes to quitting substances such as alcohol or drugs. Here at UK Rehab, we can help you to find a suitable detox centre based on your requirements.

Once you have completed a detox, you will be ready to begin the process of rehabilitation where professional counsellors and therapists will help you to get to the cause of your illness, before working on ways to help you avoid returning to your addictive behaviour.

Finding the Right Rehab Treatment Centre

We work with many organisations that provide rehab treatment to those affected by addiction. We are a free referral organisation that puts clients in touch with the treatment provider that will most suit their needs and circumstances.

As part of our service, we offer free assessments that will allow us to determine what your treatment needs actually are. We will ask questions about the type of substance you have been abusing and for how long. We will need to know the frequency with which you abuse this substance, as this will allow us to gauge how severe your problem is so that we can accurately match you to a treatment provider.

We urge you to be completely honest during this assessment so that we can help you find the best rehab treatment centre for your situation.

Find the Right Help for Your Addiction Problem

We want you to be completely comfortable with your choice of treatment provider, so we will take several other factors into consideration including your preferences, your general health, family and work commitments, and your budget.

If you would like more information on our service, contact us today.

Source: Former Forest prospect leads football’s fight against addiction (Eastwood & Kimberley Advertiser)