In deeply personal podcast, Dax Shepard shares he is recovering from a recent relapse
In a no-holds-barred conversation, Dax Shepard, who has been open about his sobriety, shared on his podcast that he recently relapsed.
Shepard, 45, said on his "Armchair Expert" podcast Friday he wanted to be honest about his journey in order to help others who may be struggling with addiction.
In the episode, which was recorded Sept. 21, Shepard explained he had previously taken prescription pain pills due to injuries from riding his motorcycle. But "for the last eight weeks maybe" he'd been "on them all day."
Shepard previously struggled with alcohol addiction and other drugs. In the podcast, he said he was still proud to have been sober from alcohol and cocaine for 16 years.
About two weeks ago, he asked wife Kristen Bell and podcast producer Monica Padman for help, he said, getting audibly emotional at times during the discussion with Padman about his struggle to get the situation under control on his own.
"I'm so sorry that I lied to you and so many people," Shepard said to Padman. "It's really regretful and shameful and really bums me out that I'm that person sometimes."
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Shepard said during the podcast he was seven days sober, and in an Instagram post Friday, he noted he was 11 days sober. He had recently celebrated 16 years of sobriety.
Shepard added it would "be unfair to say that this all started with my recent surgeries," saying that his first relapse was eight years ago when he was visiting his father who was undergoing chemotherapy.
He recalled in detail his 16-year sobriety meeting as "the worst hour" of his life because he was not sober for the occasion and he had to endure people congratulating him for hitting the milestone.
He shared there has been one positive thing he learned about himself from his recent struggle.
"The huge gift that the 16 years did give me was, I used to be able to gaslight people daily, and it didn't bother me," he said. "And I've had a good 15 and a half, or maybe more, of maybe not gaslighting people, and I just don't have that tolerance for it."
Shepard also said he is grateful he "felt safe" going to Padman and Bell for help and that he doesn't miss getting high.
"I feel so much better. Again I knew my life was going to get worse and worse and worse, like I knew it. And I now feel again like my life’s going to get better."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dax Shepard shares relapse struggle in deeply personal Armchair Expert
