Eminem celebrates 12 years of sobriety: 'I’m not afraid'
Eminem celebrated a significant moment in his battle with addiction on Monday.
The rapper, 47, announced on Instagram he's 12 years sober, sharing a photo of his sobriety chip.
"Clean dozen, in the books!" he captioned the post. He also added, "I'm not afraid," referencing his 2010 hit from the album "Road to Recovery: Withdrawal."
Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, has been outspoken throughout his career on his issues with drugs and alcohol, as well as his steps to recovery. He also previously shared photos of sobriety chips for his 10- and 11-year celebrations.
He opened up about his addiction to painkillers and his 2007 overdose in a 2015 interview with Men's Journal, sharing: "I overdosed on pills, and I went into the hospital. I was close to 230 pounds. I'm not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas."
"The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I'd been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating -- and eating badly," he added, before explaining this led him to start running to get a "natural endorphin high."
He spoke about his battle further in a 2011 interview with GQ, revealing, at one point, he was taking 60 to 90 pills a day, "including Valium, Vicodin, Ambien, and Seroquel."
He also told the outlet that sobriety has taught him more about the way he is "wired" and why his "thought process is so different."
"I've realized that the way I am helps with the music. Sporadic thoughts will pop into my head, and I'll have to go write something down, and the next thing you know I've written a whole song in an hour," he shared. "But sometimes it sucks, and I wish I was wired like a regular person and could go have a f----- drink."
"But that's the biggest thing about addiction: When you realize that you cannot -- for f---'s sake, you can not -- f--- around with nothing ever again," he added. "I never understood when people would say it's a disease. ... But I finally realized, F---, man—it really is."
The rapper said being a father to his three children influenced his path to sobriety, in an interview with The New York Times in 2010.
