An up-and-coming singer has told of how waking up in hospital after nearly dying showed her she could not continue living how she was.

Sophie Benfold said she turned her life around from being addicted to cocaine following a traumatic incident in her childhood to writing music to help others overcome their own battles.

Now 22, she was a victim of sexual assault as a child and spent years fighting and appearing in court to get her attacker jailed.

But because of his crimes, she suffered from depression as she felt “unloved” and “unworthy” and aged just 11 she tried to take her own life for the first time.

Sophie, of Kings Farm, Gravesend, continued to make suicide attempts for many years before she found another way to block out the pain.

At 18 she became addicted to cocaine. She said: “It was very overwhelming and I isolated myself from everyone.

“It got really bad but luckily my parents found where I was hiding out and they came and got me out.”

The songwriter joined a rehab group that helped her become sober and returned home. But she was battling with withdrawals from cocaine and after a year started to feel guilty for the pain she had caused.

She added: “I nearly died. It was accidental. It might as well have been an accidental suicide attempt.

“I woke up in the hospital regretting my decision and how much time I had wasted. I was sick and tired of being known as the girl with depression and anxiety. I did not want to be known for that.

“I did not want to die and saw the light at the end of the tunnel. I saw everything with a different eye. Everything was beautiful and I was so grateful to be alive.”

Sophie said it took waking up in hospital to make her realise she was not happy living how she was and that she needed to make a change to the way she thought about life.

The mum-of-one said: “For many years of my life, I was sitting in self-pity and I was so angry about things that had happened in my past.

“But things got better. I started to learn my own mind and the power I had to make a difference. It took a change in thought.

“It was not easy. It took me 22 years to feel like I was worth something but I am happy, I am here and I want to live.

“You can still feel low and unloved with so many people around you who love and care for you. But it is about changing that mindset and believing it.”

One thing that helped Sophie was becoming a mum to her son, who is now almost two –something she had always dreamt of doing.

She added: “I lost sight of it but I have always wanted to be a mum.

“My mum was such an inspiration to me and I wanted to be that someone who was always there like she was.

“It is definitely life-changing becoming a parent and it is scary. But my purpose in life is to be a mum. It is all for him.”

Sophie has since started writing and releasing music, a passion she has had since college when she was awarded a distinction in the subject.

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She said her mum was able to get her first gig after interrupting a stranger who was on the phone asking for a singer. Her mum said she had one for him and introduced Sophie who got the job.

She went on to write songs for the set and realised she had the potential to make this her career so started to focus on it.

Her latest single Relate To You was released last month and Sophie said she wrote it as a way to tell people they are not alone in their experiences.

She added: “There are a lot of people out there feeling the same way and I am one of those who can relate.

“It is about being positive and reminding people to keep going, there is a reason to be here.

“I am no one special. I am just a girl in Kings Farm trying to do what they want to do. My goal is not to get big, I want to make a difference.

“I want to reach out to people and let them know everything is OK and there are other people who feel like this. Do not give up on yourself.”

• For information on and help with addiction, click here.

Sophie Benfold’s music can be found on most streaming platforms, including Spotify.