Like Dele Alli, I became addicted to sleeping pills. This is what happened

It’s refreshing to see a successful footballer speak about his own difficult experiences with drug dependence, seemingly without shame or fear, writes Rebecca Tidy

The footballer opened up about his difficult past in a gut-wrenching interview (The Overlap)

I swallowed a quarter of a Zopiclone pill and wrapped myself in a duvet as I lay on the sofa. It was mid-morning in May 2015, and I hadn’t slept for seven days. I was halfway through cancer treatment and had developed an irrational fear of falling asleep, as it reminded me of death.

Within minutes, I felt my panic, terror and confusion slowly melt away. I soon felt relaxed enough to drift into a restful slumber for the first time in weeks. It was a beautiful feeling.

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before I was taking Zopiclone every night, so I could forget my fears and get some rest. But instead of taking a quarter of a pill, I soon needed two tablets to relax enough to fall asleep.