Cork's Brenda Dennehy tells her story of addiction and recovery in new book

Ms Dennehy spoke to The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast about her new book 

Brenda Dennehy pictured speaking on The Deirdre O’Shaughnessy Podcast: Picture: Chani Anderson

Former radio presenter and podcaster, Brenda Dennehy has detailed her journey from "rock bottom" ahead of the release of her new book The Comeback.

Ms Dennehy, from Ballydesmond, spoke to the Irish Examiner's The Deirdre O'Shaughnessy Podcast about her experience with social anxiety, depression, ADHD, alcoholism, and prescription medication addiction.

The 41-year-old said while she grew up in a loving family, her life was not without its struggles.

"I would pick the family I have in every lifetime, I had such a loving childhood," said Ms Dennehy.

"I've had no big trauma, but I always had this anxiety of never feeling good enough.

"Going into secondary school, I had such a chip on my shoulder. I wasn't very academic, I was distracted all the time, and now I relay it all back to ADHD."

Ms Dennehy said following her school years, she attended a wedding with her ex-boyfriend in Killarney, where she tried alcohol for the first time.

"The alcohol started going through my blood stream, and the social anxiety and that chip on my shoulder, I could feel them release," said Ms Dennehy.

"Before I knew it, I was loving the drink."

Ms Dennehy said while this event soon became the catalyst for her addiction to alcohol, she "doesn't blame anyone else" for her alcoholism.

Brenda Dennehy pictured with Deirdre O’ Shaughnessy in the Irish Examiner's office: Picture Chani Anderson

"I actually gave up alcohol in my third year of college over in Wales, but soon after I went back on it," said Ms Dennehy.

"I was in denial, and it all came to a head in 2010.

"I cried to my mother and said I needed help. The next day I was booked into [rehab]."

Ms Dennehy described this first stint in rehab as "a baptism from Hell."

"I thought I was going away to a retreat, I got the fright of my life," she said.

"I was petrified, but it taught me a lesson."

Following this, she started her career in media, delving deeper into the world of social media and landing a job at 96FM.

Ms Dennehy said mounting pressure from her public job contributed to a breakdown in her sobriety, leading to her addiction to prescription drugs.

"The prescription medicine came first [before going back to alcohol], I manipulated my doctor and got a script [for Xanax]," she said.

"It was like that drink I had when I was 19-years-old in Killarney, and before I knew it, I was taking more than the prescribed amount."

Ms Dennehy said around this time, she was invited to a house party, where she had a vodka for the first time in eight years.

"I knew it was wrong," she said.

A number of months later, she attended a fundraising event where she was escorted out due to being under the influence.

The next morning, Ms Dennehy said she felt so embarrassed that "as soon as the off-licence opened, I went and got a bottle of vodka".

"I was taking Xanax [with the vodka] and I woke up in the emergency department. I had no idea how I got there," she said.

"I had accidentally overdosed and that was the lowest of the low."

After this, Ms Dennehy went to rehab for the second time in Galway and regained sobriety.

Her experience of that is detailed in her upcoming book, The Comeback.

"My book is very raw and honest about what I did," said Ms Dennehy.

The Comeback, published by Mayo Books Press, is available for pre-order now for €23.99, before its release on October 29.