Stars Who Struggle: Celebrities Can Be Addicts, Too

What’s better than being a well-known celebrity? You have fame, fortune, fans, and anything you could possibly want at your fingertips. However, for celebrities that struggle with addiction, that last part also means that their drug of choice is readily available through easily accessible channels. Even though we may look at celebrities as living a charmed life, their status and privilege can also be exactly what keeps them away from sobriety for a long time.

Celebrities that are living the upscale lifestyle that accompanies fame find it can be an incredibly lonely journey. The people you knew before you became famous could begin asking for favors, money, a job: anything for them to break into the lifestyle themselves. People taking advantage of celebrities and using their fortune for personal gain is not uncommon.

As this happens, celebrities can feel threatened and angered by these ulterior motives and start to pull away, isolate themselves, and turn to other famous peers for comfort. They can relate to what you’re going through, and this support can seem helpful, but the tendency to cling to this small demographic of people can lead to a warped perception of what is normal behavior and what is not.

Here, we’ll look at some celebrities who struggle with addiction, and others who have embraced a sober living lifestyle as part of their recovery journey.

Demi Lovato

As a teen starring in Disney movies and also releasing a slew of successful records, Demi Lovato was poised to go from a child star to young adult A-list status. Privately, Lovato was battling depression, bipolar disorder, bulimia, and episodes of self-harm. In order to deal with her mental health issues, Demi turned to drugs and alcohol to numb her feelings. At the tender age of 18, she decided to check herself into drug rehab in order to deal with some of the underlying issues that contributed to her addictions. Lovato has been very open about her substance abuse issues and her ongoing recovery in both public interviews and through her music. She is clear about the fact that sober living and sobriety are both ongoing processes for addicts. Unfortunately, in July 2018 Lovato had a drug relapse that led to a near-fatal overdose. Here at Arizona Addiction Center, we genuinely hope that Demi returns to the tools and programs that allowed her to maintain a sober living lifestyle for many years.

It has become more important than ever to touch on the fact that relapse is a part of recovery. Demi was sober for several years, and acknowledging the idea that she was able to remain clean for so long is something that should be done more often. Recovering from addiction and mental illness is something that its victims have to work on every day, and maintaining the strength to do so can become all-encompassing and extremely exhausting. A relapse is a set-back, not the end of sobriety.

Rob Lowe

Looking like an ageless wonder, Rob Lowe has starred in some of our favorite movies and TV shows like “Wayne’s World,” “Tommy Boy” and “Parks and Recreation.” With his long and successful career, it’s easy to forget that in the 1980s, Rob was embroiled in numerous scandals and controversies. Fueled by alcohol and drug addiction, Lowe was caught in some compromising positions that could have potentially derailed his budding career. After entering treatment, Lowe committed to maintaining his sobriety in order to keep his wife and family on track. His continued success in the industry followed, and Lowe has been proudly sober for 28 years.

When Lowe received the Spirit of Sobriety Award in 2015, he touched on some important topics during his acceptance speech:

“Being in recovery has given me everything of value that I have in my life,” Lowe told the crowd. “Integrity, honesty, fearlessness, faith, a relationship with God, and most of all, gratitude. It’s given me a beautiful family and an amazing career. I’m under no illusions where I would be without the gift of alcoholism and the chance to recover from it.”

Recovery is possible, and sobriety is worth it. Every individual suffering from substance abuse, celebrity or not, has the power to change their life and learn from their addiction. Lowe has demonstrated this by putting a positive spin on his alcoholism, turning it into an opportunity to better his existence and that of those around him.

Zac Efron

With a wide smile, bright blue eyes, and sparkling teeth, Zac Efron was one of the stars of the Disney Channel’s wildly successful “High School Musical” movie series. His transition from teen heartthrob to successful adult actor was nearly derailed by drug and alcohol addiction. What started off as “partying” quickly spiraled into a daily, secret addiction that was slowly isolating him from friends and family.

In 2013, Efron checked into rehab and joined Alcoholics Anonymous to begin to face his addictions head-on. He has said that sobriety is a “never-ending struggle”, but his thriving career is a reminder that his rehabilitation is a positive factor in his life. Without sobriety, he wouldn’t have been able to continue fulfilling his talents and dreams as an actor.

One factor that has helped Efron stay sober is his love for activity and physical exercise. During the alcoholic stage of his life, he pushed his hobbies to the side as he fell deeper and deeper into his addiction. Now, clean and level-headed, Zac keeps his goals in mind and works out six days a week alongside maintaining a healthy diet. We couldn’t agree more with the benefits of a healthy diet: at AARC, we offer complete nutrition programs and the results for our patients have been significant and long-term.

At Arizona Addiction Center, we know that status, wealth, and celebrity don’t change the struggles that all addicts face. We offer a wide variety of programs including medical detox, intervention and family guidance, and sober living to help facilitate your rehabilitation. Rob Lowe has said that, “Recovery is a road of many surprising, unexpected gifts.” Let Arizona Addiction Center give you the gift of recovery.