My name is David Kehrli, and I’m a drug addict.

But, I refuse to let that define me; I’m also a son, a brother, a friend, a soon-to-be college graduate in December and the assistant sports editor of a well-respected publication, the Technician.

For roughly two years, I was addicted to prescription painkillers. Rarely a day went by where I would go without taking pills (if I did, it was because I was broke or couldn’t get my hands on any). At my worst, I remember days of swallowing up to 16, 5-milligram hydrocodone pills.

Today, after years of professional help, I am proud to say I’ve been clean of all opioids for more than a year and a half.

Getting clean was, without a doubt, the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life.

The withdrawals were awful: horrible muscle aches, stomach cramps, anxiety, agitation, cold sweats, vomiting, diarrhea. Every hour of every day. I wouldn’t wish that type of suffering on anyone.

The only way to feel normal again, and not sick, was to take pills — the devastating cycle many addicts find themselves trapped in, and far too often fail to ever get out.

It wasn’t until I had to visit the hospital that I realized I needed help. Not because I overdosed, but because I couldn’t take the withdrawals anymore, and I needed some type of relief without continuing to go back to drugs. Sitting in that hospital bed, it finally dawned on me that I had been killing myself and my future by doing drugs for so long.

That experience combined with the look in my parents’ eyes when I told them I was an addict and needed serious help, led me to conclude that I had no choice but to get my life together. There is no worse feeling than knowing you let your parents down and have caused them great pain and worry.

Yes, I am 100 percent at fault for becoming an addict, and not a day goes by that I wish I never took that first pill. But I know I can’t change that. I am who I am and the past is the past. All I can do now is to hopefully, in some small way, help those who are currently struggling with drug addiction.

I remember when I was at my lowest, and truly didn’t expect to ever see better days, wishing I had someone who knew what it was like. Someone to understand the pain and self-hatred. Someone to tell me things would get better if I was willing to work hard.

If you are struggling and find yourself deeper into drugs than you ever imagined, or maybe even want to admit, I want you to know, you can make it out. You can live a happy life, clean and free of drugs.

For a long time, I honestly never saw things changing for the better. I thought the process to get and stay clean would be too painful and difficult, but today, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Living a life clean of drugs is better than I ever expected.

Nobody wants to be a drug addict. We are normal people who make mistakes, and eventually find ourselves caught by the grips of something we never expected nor wanted.

If you are currently struggling with drugs, it doesn’t make you a bad person. Drug addiction affects millions of people every year, and you have nothing to be ashamed about. All I ask is that you believe in yourself and take the necessary steps to get better. Don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help; it literally changed my life.