In the 2012 documentary How to Make Money Selling Drugs, the rapper opened up about his struggles with addiction. But this bluntness has helped raise awareness of the real dangers of prescription drugs. He is also an example of how dangerous prescription drugs can be. He even had an overdose that nearly cost him his life. His albums Relapse and Recovery were deeply influenced by his struggles with drug addiction. Eminem’s recovery involved rehab, fitness, and therapy.

Eminem’s Sobriety: A Blueprint for Resilience in an Age of Overdose

She told The Guardian, “Nothing seemed to reach or satisfy me. I remember waking up one morning in those dark days thinking, ‘Maybe it’s time for heroin, because nothing else is working.'” “Drinking caused weight gain,” he told Today in September 2022, “but it also weighed down my mental state.” The Backstreet Boys member tried drugs for the first time before filming the music video for 2000’s “The Call,” telling Good Morning America years later that he “was off the walls” during the shoot. The “Lose Yourself” rapper reflected on his prior prescription pill abuse in his 2025 documentary Stans, noting an overdose and missing his daughter Hailie Jade’s birthday party prompted a change. Moore, who sought treatment in 2012, thanked two unnamed people she “barely knew” for delivering something of an ultimatum to her to turn her life around.

Eminem opens up about near-fatal overdose and describes heartbreaking moment he woke up

Jonathan is a recovery coach for Willow Springs Recovery in Texas. When he was better, the rapper tried to mix things up by incorporating Shaun T’s Insanity workout, P90X, and Body Beast into his routine. Too much of anything is not unequivocally healthy.

• In April 2020, Eminem took to Instagram to share that he had celebrated 12 years of sobriety.
• Many individuals struggling with addiction, like Eminem, don’t realize the severity of their problem until it’s almost too late.
• Eminem’s first rehab stint in 2008 failed spectacularly – he discharged himself after 72 hours, convinced he could moderate his usage.

“Mama, I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore / And Daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor / To the ones who never left me / We’ve been down this road before I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore,” she sang. 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. “Feeling thankful for the freedom that comes with breaking addictions and dependency on substance,” he added. 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.

Substance Abuse     →

Eminem’s journey isn’t just a personal triumph; it’s a testament to the power of resilience and a call to action for a more compassionate and effective approach to mental health and addiction. “That was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol⁠,” Cooper recalled during a 2022 appearance on the Smartless podcast. “I first tried to get sober over 5 years ago, when the weight of my obsession with booze and drugs became too heavy for me to handle,” he wrote at the time. While the singer did use to drink alcohol heavily, he has been living a sober life for almost 13 years. Soon enough, he got serious about his recovery and started working with a rehab counselor while going through a highly uncomfortable detox program. Consequently, the rapper preferred to self-detox and work privately with a rehab counselor instead of seeking formal treatment.

In 2013, MTV discussed how the rapper, born Marshall Mathers, explored the depths of his addiction in the film “How To Make Money Selling Drugs.” “When I took my first Vicodin, it was like this feeling of ‘Ahh.’ Like everything was not only mellow, but I didn’t feel any pain,” he said in the film, according to the outlet. But, despite his overwhelmingly successful career, Eminem — like many artists before him — fell into the trappings of drug addiction. He’s known as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2007, Eminem suffered a methadone overdose, but he got sober the following year. I just really, really liked drugs. Eminem’s successful addiction recovery proves just that.

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At the height of his career, while he was producing award-winning albums, he was battling alcohol and drug addiction. Get signed up today and discover how to unlock the grip of addiction and get back to living your best life. Eminem’s journey teaches us that addiction can affect anyone, but recovery is possible with support, discipline, and a willingness to change. He replaced drugs with exercise, running up to 17 miles a day, and leaned on support from Elton John and fellow artists like 50 Cent.

From hosting rehab support groups for fellow artists to funding recovery centers in underserved communities, Eminem’s post-addiction activism proves that survival often breeds the most potent forms of mentorship. Eminem’s cultural impact extends far beyond his lyrical prowess – his brutally honest storytelling about drug addiction has become a lifeline for fans grappling with similar demons. What are your thoughts on the role of public figures in destigmatizing mental health and addiction? However, it’s precisely this openness that can have a profound impact, normalizing conversations around mental health and addiction and encouraging others to seek help. The CDC reports over 107,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2022, highlighting the urgent need for accessible and effective treatment options.

Lessons from Eminem’s Journey: What We Can Learn

• Born as Marshall Bruce Mathers III, Eminem is a rapper, songwriter, music producer, actor, and record executive born on 17 October 1972 in Missouri.
• Personalized medicine, leveraging genetic and biological data to tailor treatment plans, is gaining traction.
• According to the singer, he started using this pill to sleep peacefully between the shooting scenes but became dependent on them.

In 2018, she recalled battling her addictions to sex and alcohol. “I have always been transparent about my journey with addiction,” she wrote on Instagram two weeks later. “I got sober because of this guy,” he told the audience at the 2020 National Board of Review Annual Awards after Cooper presented him with a trophy. The Fight Club star spent years struggling with alcohol before Cooper helped him get sober. 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.”

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Doctors later confirmed the overdose had shut down his liver’s filtration system, requiring months of medical monitoring post-recovery. Grief-stricken and guilt-ridden over their recent estrangement, Eminem began combining methadone with sleeping pills – a deadly mix that nearly ended his life. We can also anticipate a greater emphasis on preventative measures, focusing on early intervention and mental health education. Looking ahead, several trends are poised to reshape the landscape of addiction recovery.

According to the singer, he started using this pill to sleep peacefully between the shooting scenes but became dependent on them. With time, Eminem successfully lowered his body weight to 149 pounds without harming his body. This intense schedule soon took a toll on his health, and he tore his hip flexors. He understood that he needed to shed this weight while finding another way to be sober.

Beyond Celebrity: The Broader Implications for Mental Health

As for the documentary, fans lucky enough to grab a seat at AMC theatres for the limited time it aired got to hear the iconic rapper delve into his ‘complicated relationship’ between his ‘massive public persona’ and private life, the synopsis teases, with exclusive footage of Em himself. Mathers also spoke out about his road to recovery in an episode of Paul Rosenberg’s Paul Pod podcast in 2022, revealing how kicking the booze and drugs made him enjoy making music again as he felt genuinely ‘happy’. The father-of-three said he’s been sober for more than 17 years, which all started when he suffered a near-fatal overdose. His addiction to alcohol and pain pills began soon after graduating from high school and didn’t abate when his career began to take off. “Ryan has been battling from alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him,” his rep told E!

The Valley star shared his decades-long battle with drugs in March 2025 after going to rehab. While the “Lose Yourself” rapper has now been sober for 17 years, he explained that at the beginning of his journey he needed to “relearn how to walk, talk and for the most part had to relearn how to rap again.” 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. In his what was eminem addicted to new documentary Stans, the “Mockingbird” rapper reflected on his past habit of abusing prescription pills—including Vicodin, Valium, Ambien and Xanax—starting in the late ‘90s until around 2008, resulting in a dangerous health scare.

Eminem’s story reveals how depression can trap people in a harmful cycle of addiction, leading to devastating consequences like overdose. He became sober in 2008 and now treats sobriety as a strength, saying, “I started treating sobriety like a superpower and I took pride in the fact that I was able to quit.” Read ahead to know about his recovery journey and expert insights on depression and addiction. But he was also at the height of his drug addiction, as that’s when he overdosed — and according to Billboard, he tipped the scales at 230 lbs when he was in the throes of his addiction. In the piece, Em explained that drugs really only became a part of his life after the release of his 1999 album, The Slim Shady LP.

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Eminem addiction first began when he started using drugs that many used to consider harmless since they were legally available. His journey to sobriety underscores the importance of recognising mental health struggles, seeking support, and finding personal motivation to heal. The rapper, with his unapologetic and sincere lyrics, has revealed the details of how alcoholism and prescription drugs almost murdered him. Then, after the 2006 death of his friend and fellow rapper Proof, Eminem said his “addiction went through the fuckin’ roof.” He said he had as many as “10 drug dealers at one time” and was taking “75 to 80 Valiums” a night. As his fame increased, and drugs became more plentiful — especially when he went on tour — Eminem said he started to realize he was battling addiction, but still managed to “keep it on the low and keep it together” as much as possible. At Asana, we offer effective, insurance-covered treatment for addiction and mental health, guided by experts who understand because they’ve been there.

She said her friends at the time “kind of cosigned” her drug use and “it just kind of becomes this dark pit, bottomless pit.” But, during the pandemic, Cyrus said she was noticing challenges and felt she wasn’t emotionally present. “It gave me so much structure in the time that I really needed structure, because I didn’t want to just be sitting around and stirring in my brain,” she told Rolling Stone. Cyrus shared in 2022 that she’s been in recovery for her Xanax addiction since 2020.

“That’s when the wheels started coming off. Em said one moment where his addiction spilled over to the public came during an appearance on BET’s 106 and Park with 50 Cent and G-Unit. Things really got bad in between 2000’s The Marshall Mathers LP and 2002’s The Eminem Show, when he was taking a mix of Vicodin, Valium, and alcohol. As I started making a little money, I could buy more of them.”

Eminem’s account of waking up in the hospital, unable to move and grappling with the aftermath of an accidental overdose, is a chilling reminder of the dangers of prescription drug abuse and the insidious cycle of depression. 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. “I realized I’m not embarrassed anymore about it, and I started treating sobriety like a superpower. I was proud of the fact that I could quit.” 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.