Actress Kristin Davis, known for her role in ‘Sex and the City’, once commented that at one point, she didn’t believe she would live past 30 due to her heavy drinking habit. Carrie Fisher, known world-wide for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise, stated “I wanted to be less, so I took more.”
Oprah Winfrey, Eva Mendes, Demi Lovato, Kirsten Dunst, Jane Lynch, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Drew Barrymore, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kristin Davis and Carrie Fisher are just some of the women in the spotlight who have opened up about their battles with addiction.
There has been a stigma for years surrounding stars in Hollywood concerning drugs and alcohol. It has gotten to the point where hearing about yet another celebrity being arrested for drug use is not only no longer surprising, but also expected. Alisan Porter, of Curley Sue and The Voice fame, started a blog post talking about her struggle with addiction, opening it with the following:
“Hi, I’m Ali, and I’m an alcoholic. Yup, bet you didn’t see that one coming. Or, because you know that I’m a former child star, you totally did.”
Being a child star, or a star of any age for that matter, has become synonymous with abusing substances in our society. Despite the added difficulty of getting sober while in the spotlight, many of these brave women have elected to speak out against the stigma surrounding addiction and other mental health disorders. They found the help and hope they needed to turn their lives around and live free from their addictions, and now they are on a mission to help others do the same.
The Demon of Addiction
“I’m proud of people who have the determination and the fearlessness to actually go and face their demons and get better.” Eva Mendes
These women prove that it doesn’t matter how successful you are in your career, or how beautiful or talented the world may think you are, addiction is a disease that does not discriminate. It can happen to anyone at any time, and its effects can be devastating.
Jamie Lee Curtis developed an addiction to pain medication at the age of 35 after having a cosmetic surgery. “I too, took too many at once. I too, sought to kill emotional and physical pain with pain killers. Kill it. Make it stop… Too many of our fellow humans, famous, infamous, and not famous at all, have sought the same relief.”
A Way Out
Addiction can take over your life to the point where it is the only thing that matters to you; it creeps into your mind and slowly replaces everything that makes you, you. But is doesn’t have to stay that way. There is a way out, as all these women and more have shown us time and again.
“Sobriety offered me everything I ever wanted and never got.”-Alisan Porter
“5 years sober today. If you’re newly sober, keep at it, it gets so so awesome. YOU CAN DO IT.” Sia
“My recovery is the single greatest accomplishment of my life…without that, the rest of my life would have fallen apart.” -Jamie Lee Curtis
If you or someone you know is struggling with an addiction, please reach out for help. Help is available all over. For example, look into your local area or out of state facilities; such as a Miami treatment center. There are people who want to help you, who know the horrors you are going through and can help guide you to the other side. No one is so lost that they cannot be found.
“It doesn’t have to take over your life, it doesn’t have to define you as a person, it’s just important that you ask for help. It’s not a sign of weakness.” -Demi Lovato
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