Drug addiction is a complicated and difficult illness to recover from, but with the right support, it is possible. Case in point, 25-year-old Jamee Valet of Sweet Home, Oregon, whose incredible recovery was recently showcased on the Facebook page The Addicts' Diary.

It featured before and after pictures of Valet, which she had captioned: "I am a recovering heroin and meth addict. These pictures are 2 years apart. The better-looking version of me being just a few months ago when I got my GED! Recovery is possible!"

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In an interview with the Daily Mail, Valet explained that she took the picture on the left in the hope that it would kickstart her recovery.

"I love popping zits really bad and that was something I did when I was on meth," she said. "I am a picker really bad."

"I had been sitting all night in my car in a parking lot to meet up with someone for drugs. I stayed there afterward and was using the rearview mirror to pick at my face. It was morning time and I realized I'd been sitting there all this time."

This is how another heroin addict transformed after just three months in rehab:

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Valet's first foray into the world of drugs - smoking pot - happened when she was just 13 years old. This was a coping mechanism she used to escape her "really rough" childhood. She also relied on sex and alcohol for the same purpose.

However, things escalated for Valet at the age of 15 when a boyfriend introduced her to pills including Vicodin, Morphine, Oxycodone, Dilaudid and Percocets.

"He was the person who taught me how to crush them up and snort them," Valet said. "That very quickly took over and opiates became my best friend."

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At the age of 17, Valet dropped out of high school, and one night while drunk, she was raped by two men. Shortly after this, she was introduced to heroin and meth.

"I was traumatized and depressed from the rapes, and the first thing I did the day I walked out of the door was met up with some guy," she said.

Valet said she then met a drug dealer who took her back to his home where there were "so many drugs", which he "kept feeding" to her "all night."

"I didn't know limits," she said. "I remember throwing up and doing more and throwing up and doing more. I made a fool of myself."

"He sent me home after four days and it took me two weeks to come down. I felt the effects for days but recouped and went right back out."

In the video below, Demi Lovato opens up about her battle with addiction: 

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Because Valet's addiction required daily use, she was soon stealing to fund her habit and was arrested for the first time at the age of 19 - an event that prompted a suicide attempt in prison.

"Suicide was my escape plane my whole life," Valet said. "When I was in jail for the first time, I didn't have drugs to numb myself and my actions kept catching up to me."

After being in a coma for two days, she vowed to never use again, but she was soon back to her old ways.

"After that, I went straight to a man that I had sex for money with and went straight back to it," Valet stated.

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Six arrests later, she was placed on probation and managed to stay clean for nine months. During this time, she met her boyfriend Jake at an inpatient program.

"I did okay in that time but something kept gnawing at me saying 'you're not done,'" she said.

"I got pregnant and miscarried, which caused me to relapse," explained Valet. "I put my boyfriend through hell. I stole from him."

Valet would often leave her boyfriend at home with their two dogs while she went to get her fix.

"That's when we told them we had a problem," she said. "I wound up going cold turkey for 16 days and his mom nursed me back to health before sending me to a 90-day inpatient program."

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Since then Valet has managed to stay clean for a year, and she is pictured below accepting her GED in January. Now, she is looking to repair the relationships her addiction damaged.

"Family was such a big loss in my addiction," she said. "I'm fighting to earn their trust back and earn my place back."

Currently a construction worker, Valet hopes to go back to college so that she can study to become an aesthetician.

She also has a message of hope for others struggling with addiction, saying, "My heart breaks for people who are hopeless. I don't want them to feel that way because there is always hope."

"No matter how low how you're feeling or how your life is, it does get better. It is up to you to make it better, you can't be like 'my life sucks' and not do anything to change it."

A woman has recently shown off her impressive transformation after being clean for four months following a two-year battle with heroin addiction.

Taking to Facebook on October 27, Demi-Nicole Dunlop, 27, from Fochabers, Scotland, shared the story of her struggle with addiction along with some striking before and after photos.

Dunlop became addicted to heroin about two years ago, and her dependence on the Class A drug left her with a gaunt appearance and a face covered in acne and scars.

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On Facebook, Dunlop wrote: "It's took me a very long time to feel I’m worthy. I’ve done well and feel proud of how far I’ve came. But that’s only because of the incredible support of you all, I’ll forever be grateful for that [sic]."

Related - Check out this heroin addict's amazing transformation after three months in rehab:

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She also explained "the reasoning behind me sharing [these] graphic photos". Dunlop wants her story to be shared "far and wide" so that other addicts will have a source of inspiration for their own recovery.

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She added in the post: "If you’re reading this and you're in mid-addiction and you're feeling you will never get out of that dark, scary, black, horrible daily cycle of addiction, that black hole, then you can.

"Please please believe me. I had a large scale habit and I thought there was never gonna be a light at the end of the tunnel and I found it."

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The 27-year-old says she was "absolutely terrified initially of making my story public as most of you are aware, but I’m very lucky in the aspect of having such great support and positive feedback, and so will you."

Dunlop has a seven-year-old son who lives with her mom and also has a seven-month-old daughter Harlynn who was taken from her care and placed in a foster home due to her "wrongs".

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"I fell pregnant mid-addiction, I got worse! I was in hospital 12 weeks and gave birth to my beautiful daughter Harlynn 5 weeks early, luckily she was born healthy & perfect," she said.

"However, weeks later she started to suffer withdrawals due to my addiction during pregnancy. It eats me up daily that I allowed and I caused this to happen to the precious beautiful, little girl ever!"

Check out Dunlop's new, healthy appearance post-drug use:

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Despite everything the mother-of-two has gone through, she maintains she is "lucky in the aspect of having such great support and positive feedback."

People love to see a dramatic transformation. Whether these be from a professional makeover or months of hard work at the gym, it is simply incredible to see just how much somebody can change with some dedication.

However, no transformation is more heartwarming than seeing people getting clean from substance abuse and showcasing the amazing results they are seeing in recovery.

Related - Check out this addict's amazing transformation after 3 months in rehab:

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One person who proudly showed off a drastic before and after is Twitch streamer Travis Robinson.

Travis recently took to social media to share the amazing results he has since after being free from his addiction to opiates and benzodiazepines for 745 days (a little over two years).

Tweeting the incredible transformation on May 15 to his near 10,000 followers, Travis captioned the post: "LETS GOOOO!!! Wild i used to look so dead alll the f**king time. i'm finally alive. [sic]"

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Travis not only looks healthy - with his bright eyes and glowing skin - but he also looks happy, with a smile painted across his face.

The tweet has since been liked more than 850,000 times on the social media platform, with Travis' transformation inspiring others to share their own recovery snaps.

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One Twitter user called Hannah shared her own before and after shots, with her writing: "LOVE THIS. I’m celebrating 500 days clean from cocaine + heroin tomorrow!"

Twitter user Brittney shared her pics after being clean from opiates for five years. She wrote: "First picture was 5 years ago addicted to opiates :: second picture was a few days ago 5 years sober from opiates! Transformation or nah?"

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Another Twitter user with the handle wilber_saps shared his own transformation, writing: "963 days sober. Let’s give thanks to God. I’m finally alive."

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And a fourth, Escobar, shared his own before and after following a year clean.

Speaking about his own journey, Travis told those supporting him online that getting clean was the "hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life", adding: "[I] stayed in rehab for over a year and a half because I couldn’t trust myself."

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In an effort to help him stay clean, Travis used the 'I Am Sober' cell phone app in order to track his sobriety.

If this is something that you are struggling with personally, the app is something that could help you.

In addition, please speak to a medical professional or visit a website usaddiction.com for further information and support.

A couple who were once addicted to heroin have shared their striking transformation after getting clean.

Taking to TikTok, Holly Fitzwater and her partner Jake have been sharing with their followers their journey to sobriety.

In one of the videos posted to Holly's account (username: @addictionjourney1), she shares images of her and Jake after getting clean.

The video is captioned: "Sobriety #foryou #fyp #foryou #addictionrecovery #hollyjake."

The text in the video goes on to say: "This is what sobriety looks like b******."

Take a look at the video below:

The video has managed to rack up just under 20,000 views and hundreds of likes. There are also a number of supportive comments for the pair all over social media.

One supporter penned: "This is amazing news! Wishing them all the success on their recovery. It's far from easy as most will know & with so many sadly loosing [sic] their lives to it in the end. So for them to get this far is incredible and they should feel so proud!! Their families must love having them back healthy and well again."

Another added: "Well done, I know first hand that getting clean isn't easy, stay strong."

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In another post, Holly shared a video of her and Jake that featured images of them at the height of their addiction, later showing pictures of them now that they're healthy and drug-free.

Check the video out here:

The video is captioned: "1 Year Later #foryoupageofficiall #addictionrecovery #foryou #hollyjake #sobriety #fy #addictionawareness."

Holly elaborates in the video: "From heroin addicts skinny, dirty and so close to death to getting clean from drugs, [having] jobs, using the gym and getting my son back."

Again, the pair received an influx of supportive messages, with one commenter writing: "Well done guys your son will forever be grateful for your strength to change."

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Another shared: "I love this so so much congrats guys you both are strong individuals."

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A third wrote: "Keep up the great work. I watched my sister go threw it (cold turkey) if you can do this you can do anything."

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Featured image credit: Markus Mainka / Alamy

A heroin addict who was given twelve months to live last August looks stunning as she celebrates a year of sobriety.

Thirty-six-year-old Caroline Best from the West Midlands, England, had spent the past 15 years in and out of prison after being incarcerated for a series of petty thefts she used to fund her drug habit.

Then, last August, things reached breaking point when her addiction to crack cocaine and heroin caused her heart to fail. Doctors were not able to operate to save her life unless she got clean.

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An angel then came for Carolin in the form of PC Stuart Toogood of the West Midlands Police who helped the 36-year-old enrol at a rehab facility where she was given the necessary support and tools to beat her demons.

Caroline said: "Thanks to Stuart Toogood, I'm now a productive member of society and I thank him for helping me do something I couldn't do on my own. I am living proof that we can recover."

She is now working with the officer to help other addicts turn their lives around, and currently resides in a dry house to minimise the risk of temptation.

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Incredibly, Caroline managed to avoid having an operation on her heart, as the damaged valve which was threatening her life repaired itself as she recovered.

PC Stuart Toogood of the Birmingham Neighbourhood team said: "Our Offender to Rehab Programme has so far successfully placed nine prolific offenders into rehab.

"Of the five who have completed the program one has gained full-time employment at Timpson, two have worked as volunteers for Birmingham Mind charity and completed adult education courses. They have also been ambassadors for WMP, presented at several business conferences to raise awareness of the program and the benefits of it for the business community. And two people are in aftercare at dry houses - one should be progressing into employment soon whilst the other is about to undertake adult education courses."

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"Four other people are currently in treatment and doing well. Several others are in the process of being assessed for rehab placement," he continued.

"This has resulted in a huge reduction of shop thefts in and around the Birmingham North and East regions as many offenses were being committed by a core group of offenders. We are certainly seeing a benefit in this new approach."

Congratulations Caroline! May your story inspire others.

A mom-of-two who was battling addiction shared her incredible transformation after being four months clean.

Demi-Nicole Dunlop, from Scotland, has fought through an addiction to heroin and crack cocaine and come out the other side.

After being addicted to the drugs for two years, the mom-of-two shared that she had been free from their grasp for four months, marking a monumental turnaround in her life, per the Sun.

Pictures shared by Demi-Nicole vividly depict her transformation from a shadow of her former self.

When she was battling her addiction, she appeared gaunt and plagued with scabs on her face. But after being drug-free for four months, Demi-Nicole has an immaculate complexion and healthy hair.

Reflecting on her journey, Demi-Nicole expressed gratitude for the unwavering support she received throughout her recovery.

Addressing her 3,500-strong online community, she remarked: "I’ve now been entirely clean of both crack cocaine and heroin for four months. That’s entirely clean. After being an addict for two years, every single day."

In a poignant Facebook post, Demi-Nicole shared raw and unfiltered images of her struggle, from the depths of addiction to the triumph of recovery.

She recounted the arduous journey of breaking free from the shackles of dependency, offering encouragement to others navigating similar paths. "If you’re reading this and you’re in mid-addiction... then you can. Please please believe me," she implored.

Despite the daunting challenges she faced, Demi-Nicole remains an advocate for the transformative power of resilience and support. "I know that feeling of thinking it’s impossible, I’m an example of it being possible," she said.

She admitted she was "absolutely terrified initially of making my story public as most of you are aware, but I’m very lucky in the aspect of having such great support and positive feedback, and so will you."

Demi-Nicole's second child, Harlynn, was taken from her care and placed in a foster home as the battle with drug addiction was still ongoing at that time.

"I fell pregnant mid-addiction, I got worse! I was in hospital 12 weeks and gave birth to my beautiful daughter Harlynn 5 weeks early, luckily she was born healthy & perfect," Demi-Nicole said.

"However, weeks later she started to suffer withdrawals due to my addiction during pregnancy. It eats me up daily that I allowed and I caused this to happen to the precious beautiful, little girl ever!"

Messages of admiration flooded in for the former addict, with one person saying: "Your doing well and so brave. You look amazing and you are so worth more than being a minion to that horrible drug." (sic)

A second person said: "Congratulations well done you look beautiful keep going wish you all the best for the future."

While a third person added: "You should be so proud of yourself! Keep motivated by thinking of your kids. You are a beautiful strong woman. Wish you all the luck in the world that you get your babies back for good."

If you or someone you know is battling addiction, please reach out for help and contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (1-800-662-4357) or go to https://findtreatment.gov/ 

Featured image credit: MTStock Studio/Getty