sobriety quotes from celebrities

from alcoholic.org

Sobriety Quotes from Celebrities

Whether you are a celebrity or an ordinary person, drug abuse or alcoholism can affect you. There are many people who have abused drugs or alcohol in the past, and their sobriety quotes can be extremely important to those who are undergoing rehab.

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  “The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.”

  Robert Downey Jr. is a well-known actor whose movies such as Iron Man, Tropic Thunder and Sherlock Holmes have graced many DVD collections. Despite his initial successes with Less Than Zero and Natural Born Killers, he started to take and abuse drugs. Between 1996 and 2002, he was regularly arrested on drugs charges. When asked about his addiction, he said, “It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth, and I like the taste of metal.” However, he also acknowledged that he has found success after his addiction through the support of his family, friends and colleagues in the film industry. He said, “The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven.”

• Ringo Starrwas the drummer of the phenomenally successful
  

  “That’s all drugs and alcohol do; they cut off your emotions in the end.”

  Beatles, and for a period of around 20 years, he took a wide variety of drugs and drank a lot of alcohol. “I didn’t work or do anything,” he once said. “I wouldn’t go out, because you’d have to be in the car for 40 minutes without a drink.” However, he realized that, “That’s all drugs and alcohol do; they cut off your emotions in the end.” As a result, he started getting sober, and he now enjoys a successful career where he tours with his band.

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  “Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life…”

  Gary Oldman is an acclaimed British actor who rose to fame as part of the so-called Brit Pack, a group consisting of British actors who came to prominence during the 1980s. However, the death of his father lead to him drinking too much, and he found himself addicted. He wrote, “I drank for about 25 years getting over the loss of my father, and I took the anger out on myself. I did a good job at beating myself up sometimes.” However, Gary realized he had a serious problem, and he took the step of joining Alcoholics Anonymous and getting sober. He later said, “Getting sober was one of the three pivotal events in my life, along with becoming an actor and having a child. Of the three, finding my sobriety was the hardest thing.” However, he is now a teetotaler, and his recent films have been box office hits.

• Rob Lowe is another actor who ended up as an alcoholic.
  

  “Sobriety was the greatest gift I ever gave myself.”

  His career has had its ups and downs, and he is currently enjoying a long line of successful TV shows. He gained notoriety due to his recklessness and hedonistic lifestyle, particularly when he was caught in bed with a 16-year-old girl. However, he turned his life around and said, “Sobriety was the greatest gift I ever gave myself. I don’t put it on a platform. I don’t campaign about it. It’s just something that works for me. It enabled me to really connect with another human being-my wife, Sheryl-which I was never able to do before.”

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  “My identity shifted when I got into recovery.”

  Eric Clapton is a legendary guitarist who drank and injected and smoked heroin. He eventually quit both in 1982 after his manager and friends intervened. He wrote this about sobriety: “My identity shifted when I got into recovery. That’s who I am now, and it actually gives me greater pleasure to have that identity than to be a musician or anything else, because it keeps me in a manageable size. When I’m down on the ground with my disease-which I’m happy to have-it gets me in tune. It gives me a spiritual anchor. Don’t ask me to explain.” He founded a recovery center in Antigua called Crossroads, which aims to help people with drug addictions.

• Buzz Aldrinbecame famous as one of the first astronauts to walk on
  

  “It’s been one of the greatest challenges that ever came along in my life; it was one of the more difficult things to do.”

  the moon. However, prior to the mission, he had been a pilot, and he was unprepared for the media storm that was about to hit him. After the Apollo 11 mission, his life became one of speaking engagements, publicity and the spotlight. His life became less structured and he found himself unused to the freedom offered by superstardom. He realized he had a problem and he went to a recovery clinic to be treated. He openly praises these organizations, saying: “I think recovery organizations are essential. I still participate in that because I enjoy the sharing that takes place and the friendship.” Having been sober for over three decades, Buzz still remembers his battle with alcohol: “It’s been one of the greatest challenges that ever came along in my life; it was one of the more difficult things to do.”