Since making the lifestyle change, Holland noticed he “could sleep better” and “handle problems better.” “My oldest son kept asking for like pineapple Fanta, but he don’t even really drink soda,” Offset recounted on Baby, This Is Keke Palmer. “And then one day he came in studio like, ‘Why yours is different color than mine?’ It killed me.” “I’m sticking this one out all the way,” he told People in July 2025. “It’s a daily thing. But I have finally done what has been suggested amongst the sober community, and my life has flipped in a positive way.” Shortly after going into recovery, Eminem put pen to paper and gave us his 2009 album Relapse in the process, and although he admits the reception from fans for the record was ‘lukewarm’, it spurred him further.
- Eminem’s full recovery occurred about 4 years after his first stint in rehab.
- All the running eventually took a toll on his body and he tore his hip flexors.
- It was his kids that inspired him and gave him the strength to triumph over his situation and successfully go through addiction recovery.
Struggling With Depression, Eminem Says ‘Vicious Cycle’ Led to Overdose: “I’m Going To Die”
According to addiction specialists, self-detox can be extremely dangerous, even if it works for some people. Each person is different, and how they respond to self-detox can vary. All the running eventually took a toll on his body and he tore his hip flexors.
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But Eminem managed to get his life together and has successfully made his way through addiction recovery. As Eminem’s career took off during the early 2000s, he had the opportunity to star in a dramatic film named 8 Mile. As the shooting for the film continued, he developed an addiction to prescription drugs, particularly Ambien. According to the singer, he started using this pill to sleep peacefully between the shooting scenes but became dependent on them. The fear of experiencing psychological and physical pains related to withdrawals can scare many people from joining a rehab. However, Eminem’s life example proves that no matter how hard the process is, recovery is always possible and can positively influence all aspects of life.
In an interview with Vibe (via The Hindu), Eminem revealed that, at one point, he overdosed on methadone. A friend had given him the drug, which is used to wean heroin addicts off of the drug, and he would not have taken it had he known it was methadone. “My doctor told (me that) the amount of methadone (I’d) taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin,” he said.
- When her sister visited her in the summer of 1998 and brought along prescribed painkillers for a rib injury, Curtis said she hit her rock bottom.
- “Unless I was dead, I better show up,” she quipped, adding that she was given “a chance to redirect the course of my life before I destroyed everything.”
- During the peak of his career, Eminem continued to battle alcohol and drug addiction while producing award-winning songs.
- After the sudden death of Mac Miller, the rapper—born Shad Moss—took to Twitter to let his fans know that he’d once struggled with a cough syrup addiction.
The ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker said he was embroiled in a ‘vicious cycle’ of feeling ‘depressed’ and needing ‘more pills’ back in 2007 when one day, he happened to wake up in hospital. While the singer did use to drink alcohol heavily, he has been living a sober life for almost 13 years. After the success of his 1999 album The Slim Shady LP, he was wealthier and could buy any drugs he was interested in. He developed a preference for Vicodin, Valium, alcohol, and Ambien, admitting later he was unable to control his drug use. “It was easier for me to say that I’m doing it for her because, at that time, I didn’t feel like I was sort of worth much,” he recalled of the early days of their relationship. “I didn’t care as much about hurting myself as I did about hurting her. So, initially it was easier for me to say, ‘I’m doing this for her.’ And now, I’m doing it for myself.”
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“I had what I call a white light experience where I saw myself either dead or losing everything that meant anything to me,” he continued. He had to sit down then-fiancée Meg Ryan and explain what was going on. “Drinking caused weight gain,” he told Today in September 2022, “but it also weighed down my mental state.” After publicly celebrating six years of sobriety on tour in 2018, the singer stunned fans later that same year with the release of the confessional single “Sober,” which revealed that she had relapsed. Crediting Arnett as “the reason” he went sober, Cooper added, “He took that risk of having a hard conversation with me that put me on a path of deciding to change my life.”
Eminem turned to running to deal with his addiction
Eminem opened up about the way his struggle with drug addiction was a constant, if unseen, presence throughout much of his early career in a new as-told-to in XXL. Ark Behavioral Health offers 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs. After an incident in Newport Beach where the Olympic swimmer tried to kick in his own hotel room door, Lochte made the decision to seek treatment in 2018. “Ryan has been battling from alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him,” his rep told E! “He has acknowledged that he needs professional assistance to overcome his problem and will be getting help immediately.”
In October 2025, the Migos member shared he was four years sober from codeine—an opioid used to make the soda-based drink sizzurp—after a “wake-up call” from his teenage son Jordan. “I’ve discovered new verbiage, such as boundaries, never really had those,” he continued. “Now I have those, which is a blessing. AJ is a member of a group. He is a persona, but he doesn’t define me as an individual. Alexander James is who I am.” Beyond the health scare, he was compelled to fight back against his addiction after missing the birthday party of his and ex Kim Scott’s daughter Hailie Jade, now 29. The 52-year-old (real name Marshall Mathers) noted that when returned home, he felt like he “needed something” and that he was “gonna die” if he didn’t make a change. Ultimately, Eminem got clean and sober, and he detailed this sobriety in the album “Recovery.” Read on to discover how Eminem achieved and maintained his sobriety.
Although the Parenthood alum knows that “one of the things that you’re not supposed to do is get sober for somebody else,” his relationship with now-wife Melanie Lynskey was a major reason that led him to swearing off alcohol. The A Star Is Born actor struggled with a cocaine addiction during the early aughts before friend Will Arnett stepped in and confronted him out about his behavior. She attended her first meeting on Feb. 3, 1999, the same day she revealed her struggle to her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest.
Eminem was subject to a maniacal spiral of depression that resulted in intensified addiction and it can be backed by scientific studies. A study published on PubMed shows that the simultaneous occurrence of depression and substance abuse happens frequently, and each condition aggravates the other. Human beings go into using the substances in an attempt to self-medicate their depression, but this can result in tolerance, drug reliance, and even overdose.
Not everyone has to do it the same way, however, and no one has to do it alone. Articles and interviews suggest that Eminem committed to sobriety after his near-fatal overdose, motivated by the life-threatening experience and responsibility to his family. His albums Relapse and Recovery focus on themes of Eminem’s reputation and battles with drug addiction. “I got to the point where I knew it was something I couldn’t do on my own,” Gilbert said.
In case of any medical exigencies/ persistent health issues, we advise you to seek a qualified medical practitioner before putting to use any advice/tips given by our team or any third party in form of answers/comments on the above mentioned website. The truthfulness of Eminem about his troubles reminds us that even those who look the strongest and most assured have some battles deep inside. However, a person can recover and seeking assistance can change the situation.
“It offers a raw, loud, and revealing journey across his career – and the passionate audience that has grown with him,” it adds. In April 2024, the ‘Without Me’ rapper proudly showed off his 16 years of sobriety as he held a chip commemorating the achievement in a post on Instagram. Liv Bridge is a digital journalist who joined the UNILAD team in 2024 after almost three years reporting local news for a Newsquest UK paper, The Oldham Times. She’s passionate about health, housing, food and what drugs was eminem addicted to music, especially Oasis… We work with experts and keep a close eye on the latest in health and wellness.
