Drew Barrymore has revealed that giving up alcohol three-and-half years ago has allowed her “to finally become free of the torture of guilt”.
The Charlie’s Angels actor wrote about her sobriety journey in an essay published in the December issue of her magazine, Drew.
In the piece, the 47-year-old described her detachment from alcohol as “one of the most liberating things in my journey of life” and encouraged readers to put themselves first.
She penned: “One of the bravest things you can do is slay those dragons and finally change an awful cycle in which you’ve found yourself stuck. For me, it was to stop drinking.”
Barrymore further admitted that giving up alcohol has allowed her “to finally become free of the torture of guilt and dysfunction”.
The Never Been Kissed star first revealed last December that she had been sober for more than two years, following her divorce from Will Kopelman, with whom she shares daughters Olive, 10, and Frankie, eight.
At the time, the actor opened up about her sobriety during an interview on CBS Mornings, telling hosts that “alcohol did not serve her”.
The Hollywood star added: “I would like to move forward in a more honest fashion that is more conducive to my mental peace.
“Maybe people think I figured out so many problems when I was young, because it was so hard then.
“We continue to confront things with each decade of our life that almost surpasses what we thought we had seen. I’m interested in that conversation – we don’t fix it, move on, and it never breaks again. We are on that rollercoaster.”
Barrymore hasn’t shied away from her past traumas and previously discussed how she underwent treatment for alcohol and drug addiction when she was 13 years old.
Last September, the actor, who first found fame as a child starring in E.T., visited the mental-health institution where she was admitted as a teenager.
“I was a real wild child and I just got so out of control that no-one knew what to do with me,” Barrymore told viewers.
“They drove me here in the middle of the night and they walked me through those two doors and, when you go through those two doors, you do not come out. And I was there for a year-and-a-half.”
