Former addict shares the incredible story of how he saved his own life

Christopher Connolly from Dublin spoke to JOE about his journey with addiction and how he turned his life around.

Describing himself as an ex-drug addict, runner, and content creator, the founder of Get Better with Chris, shared his incredible story with JOE.

Chris grew up in Fatima Mansions, an area he labelled as 'ravaged with drugs'. He spoke of his involvement in crime from a young age 'just to fit in'.

Drugs entered Chris' life when he began partying. He said his first experience taking drugs while partying in Ibiza felt like 'the best thing [he'd] ever done in [his] life'.

"I would chase the same high that I got off my first hit again, and again, and again." 

Unfortunately, a vicious cycle began for Chris and his addiction worsened.

After a binge of drugs and alcohol, Chris became extremely paranoid and would deal with altered realities and psychosis, even when sober.

He made his way to the UK, sleeping in parks and bushes, which felt secure for him.

Christopher Connolly (aka Get Better With Chris) has had his fair share of ups & downs.

Having battled with addiction throughout his young life, Chris tells us the harrowing story behind his road to recovery. https://t.co/kcwr3cdTR8

— JOE.ie (@JOEdotie) February 26, 2025

Eventually, he was contacted by the Metropolitan Police and returned home with the help of his family.

Chris began treatment for his addiction, and said the best day of his life was the day he took accountability for his actions.

"I knew I was never going to be perfect, but I knew it could always get better," he told JOE.

These realisations led Chris to set up his page Get Better with Chris.

"I started making TikTok's and I started doing that probably because I wanted everyone to see that I was sober," he explained.

"Before I knew it then, I started to get a bit of a reaction."

Now with 157,000 Instagram followers, Chris is spreading his incredible story with the world.

"I run past [the bridge] on numerous occasions and I look over, and to be honest it does make me a little bit happy, because at least now I know that I'm running over bridge, I'm not sitting underneath it and I think that’s what life is all about," concluded Chris.