Dele Alli’s experience with sleeping pill addiction – Dele Alli told Gary Neville’s “The Overlap” podcast on Thursday that he had recently left a treatment center for an addiction to sleeping pills after struggling to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse at a young age.
The 27-year-old former Tottenham and England star told the podcast that he had been dealing drugs at the age of eight before being adopted by a family at the age of 12.
Alli shot to fame under Pochettino at Spurs and was part of the England team that reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.
However, he has since fallen out of favor at the club and has struggled to make an impact on the pitch at Everton and Besiktas in recent years.
He said those struggles were a result of a number of traumas from his childhood that he had tried to forget.
“When I was six years old, my mum was an alcoholic and my dad was at home a lot,” he said.
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After being sent to Africa to be disciplined by his father, he was sent back home. At the age of seven, he began smoking, and at eight, he began selling drugs.
An elderly man told him that they would not stop a child from riding a bicycle, so he took his football and hid drugs underneath it.
At 11, he was hung by a man from the nearby estate. At 12, he was adopted by a wonderful family, which he said he could not have asked for. He said, “If God made people, this is them.”
Sleeping Pill Problem Widespread
Alli said he hoped that speaking out would help others who have experienced similar abuse and that his six-week stay in rehab had helped him to rediscover his passion for football.
“I knew going into rehab was going to be scary, but I had no idea how much it would actually help me mentally,” he said. “I was in a really bad place when I was younger.
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A lot of things happened when I was young that I never really understood. “Alli also warned of the risks of sleeping pill addiction, which he said is a problem that is more common in football than people think.
“If you’re broken like I was, taking a sleeping tablet and being ready for the day can have the opposite effect because it works for the problems you’re trying to deal with,” he said.
Alli is also in the process of recovering from a knee injury and the club said he will be concentrating on mental and physical recovery ahead of next month’s new season.
“We are all immensely proud of Dele’s courage to speak out about the challenges he has faced and to seek the help he needs,” said the club.
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The club added that Alli will not be making any further statements regarding his rehabilitation and asked for his privacy to be respected while he recovers from the injury and receives the necessary care and support for both his physical and mental well-being.
Alli’s former Tottenham team-mate and England captain, Harry Kane, praised his friend for speaking out.
5 Things to Consider Before Taking Sleeping Pills
The first and most important thing to remember is that insomnia is always just a symptom.
Do you even know what ‘your something else’ is? And if you don’t know what it is, don’t take anything that tries to mask it.
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If you’re taking any natural remedy or sleeping pills, you won’t know if you’ve solved the problem when and if you start sleeping great again.
You’ll be right to wonder if it’s the remedy/ pills or if your body is naturally readjusting.
Second, according to an analysis of a group of sleeping pill studies funded by the US NIH, by Stephanie Saul of The New York Times in October 2007, “on a group-by-group basis,” the pills “reduced the average time it took to fall asleep by 12.8” compared with “false pills” and “increased total sleep time by 11.4”.
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In that same article, the following statements were made: “Most sleeping pills act on the same receptors as drugs used to treat anxiety, and by reducing anxiety, they may make people less likely to worry about falling asleep, thereby making them feel better.”
According to another theory about the difference between measured and perceived sleep, “Anterograde Amnesia” is a condition in which, while taking most sleep medication, people have difficulty forming memories, and when they wake up they may forget they ever had trouble sleeping.
Thirdly, did you know that meds for sleeping pills are usually addictive if you use them for a long time?
Addictive means that they become less effective over time, meaning you need to take more for the same effect.
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Long-term use leads to a downward spiral in your health, and you may even resort to using other substances.
Plus, addictive drugs can cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking them.
These may include:
- Rebound insomnia
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- Tremors
You may have two problems:
- Lack of sleep
- Addiction to the medication
Fourth, sleeping pills won’t fix your underlying problem. You’ll have to solve your underlying problem eventually, so why delay?
Finally, some sleeping pills have even been linked to some weird behavior like sleep-driving or sleep-eating.
But don’t worry, there are lots of natural ways to get a good night’s sleep without taking anything, even pills.
These include exercise, eating a healthy diet that’s free of colorings and chemicals, and finding out if you’re allergic or intolerant to any of the more than 50 food additives or chemicals that can affect sleep and mood.
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Plus, you can use cognitive behavioral therapy to help you with your psychological issues.