Last spring, Gucci Mane was released from prison after serving three years on federal drug and gun charges. On Friday, in a revealing, must-see interview with ESPN’s Highly Questionable, Guwop spoke on his experience in prison and how he managed to turn his life around.

At the beginning of the interview, he admitted that most of his career has been a “blur” defined by “violence, drugs, and paranoia” and that he’s only recently been able to enjoy his success.

“I felt like I was gonna kill somebody, for trying to kill me,” he said of his paranoia that eventually grew into post-traumatic stress disorder. “I was never afraid. I just kinda, in my mind I felt like someone was going to try to hurt me, try to rob me, do something to force my hand and defend myself and hurt them.”

He also touched on the painful process of drying out from his lean addiction. “Drying out from lean is probably the worst feeling in the world,” he admitted. “It tears your body down, it tears your mind down. When you do something for so long it’s kind of like food — it’s like starving.”

Despite facing one of the darkest periods in his life, Guwop started working out, drinking water, reading, and began planning for his life after prison. He now attributes James Allen’s 1903 book As a Man Thinketh for helping him develop a positive outlook on life. “I’m proud of what I did,” he continued. “I’m proud that I’m still here. I’m proud that I got past all of it.”

That thinking helped Gucci have one of the most successful years of any artist in 2016. He released three albums, The Return of East Atlanta Santa, Everybody Looking, and Woptober along with his mixtapes Free Bricks 2: Zone 6 Edition with Future, and 1017 vs. the World with Lil Uzi Vert.

Watch the Highly Questionable segment above and watch Gucci Mane in his first interview with the Breakfast Club since his release from prison below.