Former addict shares distressing photo of her fighting for her life in powerful warning to others

Emma Sturgeon decided to "party" after a man she met on Tinder didn't text her back

Emma nearly died (Image: Reddit/sturgio_garcia)

Lying in intensive care, wired up to machines which are keeping her alive, the image of Emma Sturgeon fighting for her life is not easy to look at.

Remarkably, it's an image - and story - which Emma, herself, from Nashville, has willingly shared.

Now six months clean and healthy, the photo shows 23-year-old Emma shortly after overdosing on Adderall (an upper) and alcohol , both of which she was addicted to.

Emma's addiction battle began when she was in secondary school, when she was prescribed Adderall for her ADHD.

Within a year she was addicted.

It began with her doubling her dose each day, which soon escalated to her taking a month's worth in a day.

Now she's the picture of health (Image: Reddit/sturgio_garcia)

She told Women's Health US : "Eventually, I was snorting it in the bathroom of my high school. And I knew it wasn't good, but I couldn't stop."

The situation disintegrated rapidly, with Emma spending money her parents gave her for food on the drug and even resorting to stealing from her family to get a fix.

On the day of her overdose, Emma, then 20-years-old, had messaged a man she'd met on Tinder, who didn't text back.

It triggered something in Emma, who decided to "party."

Soon Emma was addicted to her medication, and would snort it (Image: Getty)

This involved drinking whiskey while driving and bar-hopping with a man she'd just met - all on top of the huge dose of Adderall she'd taken.

"I had taken at least half of a 30-day prescription of Adderall that day, plus chugged a lot of alcohol, and I was on the verge of losing it - fading in and out, right on the line of unconsciousness," Emma explains.

The next thing she remembers is waking up in the same hospital bed from the photo.

Her relationship with her family is now back on track too (Image: Getty)

She attended a rehab cIt was the wake-up call she needed, and Emma slowly started down the path of rehabilitation centre for six months in Colorado to get her off the uppers and now attends AA meetings every Wednesday.Not only that, but she is a full-time nursing student and feels the best she's felt since her teens.

"My relationship with my family is so good. That's one of the biggest blessings of my sobriety - I got my family back," Emma adds.

"I'm still that addict, and I could slip back into that way of living so easily if I don't work on my recovery every day.
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