Festive spirits are high during Christmas time but for some who are suffering from addiction the holiday period can be a dark reminder of their daily battle.
It's a scenario Jack Nagle is all too familiar with, after using drugs for five years from the age of 15.
After working in rehab facilities for years he now runs an Australian-first online addiction treatment program Real Drug Talk and offers counselling.
He receives more calls and inquiries than ever during this time of the year.
"Alcohol related harms go through the roof during this holiday period," Mr Nagle told AAP.
"It's something as a nation we don't like to acknowledge, everyone's in the Christmas spirit, but there are a massive amount of people who are suffering from addiction and this time of year seems to compound it."
Mr Nagle's spiral down began with a range of drugs "just for fun" but it was ice which had the most severe and damaging affects on him.
"I felt like I had two people inside of me battling against each other, I was just so lost and confused at that point," Mr Nagle told AAP.
After getting the right help he turned his life around by working in rehab facilities. Over the next seven years he noticed that access was one of the biggest issues for people seeking treatment.
Beds were often not available, or mental health challenges were too much for someone trying to navigate the complex public health system.
"I could barely get out of bed and have a shower let alone sort out a drug rehabilitation program, and I was incredibly lucky to have family support that helped me get there," Mr Nagle said.
He told his story to a few media outlets and soon he was inundated with Facebook messages. It was then he saw a significant amount of people online, looking for answers.
"For every person I helped, there were about 20 who slipped through the cracks."
This was the impetus for the online addiction program Real Drug Talk which he founded in 2014.
A six-week online course accessible anywhere with an internet connection, it offers educative video presentations, manuals and interactive exercises as well as online counselling from professionals.
In the new-year the online forum will also offer weekly live webinars that go deep on a topic.
Mr Nagle describes a sense of "arrogance" addicts experience, this idea that nobody really understands what they are going through.
It was a conversation with a former addict which was the first time he felt he could connect with another person through their shared experience.
Mr Nagle offers counselling now in the hope of connecting with someone in the same way.
He advises anyone struggling with addiction during the Christmas period not to wait, but to reach out and seek help.
"If you think you might have a problem or you aren't happy with how things are going, it sounds cliched but just reach out to someone, even on Facebook messenger, just make that first step."
Australian Associated Press
