Lena Dunham detailed her journey to becoming sober as she celebrated five years of sobriety on Monday on Instagram.
The Girls creator shared a candid and lengthy post about “medicating” herself in “unhealthy ways” as she noted how far she has come.
In 2018, the 36-year-old checked into a 28-day rehab programme after she became addicted to prescription drugs following a hysterectomy.
She penned in the caption: “Five years ago today, I set foot, trembling like a little kid, into treatment for substance misuse.”
Dunham recalled how her addiction was overwhelming with the “struggle” hitting her “all at once”.
The director continued: “Ease in my body, ease in my restless mind and the ease to exist in moments of pain, anxiety and uncertainty without reaching for a solution that seemed to help in the moment but pulled me further away from the people I love and the life that I wanted,” she added.
“Asking for help was the hardest part but each step from there got easier.”
The Catherine Called Birdy filmmaker reflected: “The last five years have been the happiest of my time on earth so far.”
Dunham has previously discussed how she became addicted to prescription drug in 2017 while recovering from a hysterectomy to relieve her endometriosis symptoms.
Endometriosis is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows in other places, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes and even bowel.
Currently, endometriosis is estimated to affect one in 10 women during their reproductive years worldwide — and around 1.5 million women in the UK alone— and symptoms can vary in severity for each individual. The stats for the UK on the NHS state that one in 10 women are believed to have it, and it can run in families.
She previously told Cosmopolitan of her addiction: “It got really complicated. I realised I wasn’t just taking medication for physical pain, I was taking medication for the emotional pain too.
“One day, I looked around and I was lying in a bed in my parents’ apartment under two blankets, in the same pyjamas I’d been in for three days, and I was like, ‘This isn’t me’.”
In light of her sober birthday, the star revealed that she would be matching donations to Friendly House, which was the first programme in the US to help women recover from substance abuse.
