Celebrity rehab is it’s own world – luxury rehab facilities, repeated dramatic trips, and continued temptations haunt the scene. But many celebrities have success stories that mark rehab as the moment that turned it all around – they recognized that addiction in all its forms is a brain disease and that professional help can be transformative. These success stories offer hope for the millions of Americans struggling with various forms of addiction and counter the all to common story of celebrities who lost their lives to addiction.
Putting Painkillers Behind Her
Jaime Lee Curtis’s story has much in common with that of other addicts. The actress became addicted to painkillers after undergoing surgery, but marked over ten years of sobriety in 2010. What’s more, after seeking help, Curtis deems recovery to be the greatest accomplishment of her life, recognizing that change was vital to her happiness and wellbeing.
Taking Recovery Public
Celebrity rehab is not just something marketed to the wealthy, but also a television phenomenon with a number of successful seasons behind it. Season two featured Nikki McKibbin, a former American Idol contestant with history that included cocaine, ecstasy, and alcohol abuse, as well as illicit Adderall use. The singer notes that these substances served to cover over childhood abuse. Now sober, McKibbin hopes her story encourages others to seek the help she received and turn their lives around.
Young Struggles
Drew Barrymore found herself in rehab at the young age of thirteen, and in fact that 1989 stay marked her second trip towards sobriety. With her early propulsion to fame in the movie E.T., Barrymore was surrounded by temptation, struggling with alcohol, marijuana, and ultimately cocaine. While Barrymore admits that sobriety is an ongoing process, the actress’s success only skyrocketed in the years after her stay in rehab, and now Barrymore is a mother of two and doing better than ever.
Healthy Roads
At twenty nine, Ben Affleck recognized that alcohol represented a barrier to his success and happiness and checked into rehab. Interestingly, Charlie Sheen, today hardly seen as the face of sobriety, helped Affleck find an appropriate facility and even drove him there. Affleck has committed himself to this new, healthier life ever since and focuses on keeping a support system of family, friends, and fans around him.
Reaching For The Sky
Many know that Demi Lovato’s hit song Skyscraper is about her personal mental health struggles, but few recognize the extent of her story. Struggling with the difficult combination of alcohol, self-harm, and bulimia in addition to bipolar disorder, the singer almost returned to rehab in 2014 but has since gotten back on track.
Noting that real change takes time, Lovato has come to embrace her body, building her self-image and lifting up other young women at the same time. In fact, as she works to promote the importance of natural beauty, Lovato may be one of the most earnest success stories to come out of the celebrity rehab scene in recent years. Her honesty, just like that of other stars, is part of lifting the stigma around addiction and rehab, and that’s good for everyone.