When you are struggling with addiction, recovery can sometimes feel impossible. However, millions of people across the globe have left drug or alcohol abuse behind and gone on to live happy and productive sober lives. Here are five celebrity stories to inspire you.
Matthew Perry is famous for playing the role of Chandler Bing in the award-winning TV series Friends. However, he struggled with prescription drug and alcohol addiction for many of the years he spent on set.
Perry became addicted to painkiller Vicodin after a skiing accident in 1997. He attended rehab three years later but returned to substance misuse shortly afterwards.
In 2001, he checked into rehab again for a longer period. Here, he began his journey to sobriety, and today he enjoys a completely sober life. He dedicates much of his time to helping others with addiction, and at one point, he opened a recovery home for newly recovered men.
Lily Allen previously struggled with addiction to Adderall, cocaine, and alcohol. She decided to get sober after she considered taking heroin during her tour with Miley Cyprus in 2014. At that point, she realized it was time to break the cycle.
In July 2020, Allen shared a photo to her Instagram to celebrate a year of sober life, with the caption “so grateful for my health and happiness.”
Today, Allen has been sober for eighteen months. She spends her time focusing on her sobriety and building a healthy relationship with her two daughters.
Davida McCall is one of Britain’s most well-known TV presenters, working on shows like Big Brother and the Long Lost Family. But before the start of her career, she struggled for years with alcohol and heroin addiction.
McCall’s mother was also addicted to alcohol, and she thinks this was a major factor in the development of her problems with substance misuse. However, with the help of the support group Narcotics Anonymous, she managed to overcome her addiction.
Today, she says that defeating addiction has made her a stronger person. She has even become a fitness guru alongside her TV career - something which in her younger years she would have never felt was possible.
Robert Downy Jr. is probably one of the most renowned celebrities in recovery. He is famous for playing many Hollywood roles, including Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.
In 1996, when the police stopped him for speeding, they found him in possession of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. In the following years, he attended rehabilitation twice but could not commit either time and ended up with a thirty-six-month jail sentence.
After being arrested two more times, he finally found the motivation to recover from substance misuse. He committed himself to a 12-step program, therapy sessions, yoga, and meditation. With this dedication and support, he left behind drugs and alcohol and returned to his acting career and productive sober life.
Daniel Radcliffe turned to alcohol to cope with the overwhelming fame experienced after playing Harry in the Harry Potter films.
At the height of his alcohol abuse, Radcliffe used to end almost every night out with a blackout. He used to drink in isolation and even while working on the Harry Potter set.
In 2010 he decided to turn his life around and recover from alcohol dependency. Despite relapsing a couple of years later, Radcliffe’s journey to sobriety has been successful, and he has now been sober for three years. He controls his cravings by going for long walks or working out in the gym - a routine that helps his mind stay occupied.
Today, Radcliffe is positive about the future and encourages others to seek help if they are living through similar experiences. Drug or alcohol dependency is not something to be ashamed of, and recovery is possible for anyone.
