However, Eminem’s life example proves that no matter how hard the process is, recovery is always possible and can what was eminem addicted to positively influence all aspects of life. The fear of experiencing psychological and physical pains related to withdrawals can scare many people from joining a rehab. Eminem even admitted that he took running to an extreme when he started running up to 17 miles per day on his treadmill. The singer acknowledged having an addict’s brain, so he simply recovered by replacing the harmful addiction with a healthier one.

Eminem turned to running to deal with his addiction

• The synopsis highlights “stylized recreations, rare archival footage, and intimate interviews,” suggesting a deeply personal and revealing exploration of his life and career.
• In October 2025, the Migos member shared he was four years sober from codeine—an opioid used to make the soda-based drink sizzurp—after a “wake-up call” from his teenage son Jordan.
• But, despite his overwhelmingly successful career, Eminem — like many artists before him — fell into the trappings of drug addiction.
• 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.

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 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.

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His willingness to detail relapses, withdrawal horrors, and the daily grind of staying clean has reshaped conversations about addiction in hip-hop. While critics initially dismissed his graphic depictions of substance abuse as shock value, time revealed these narratives to be raw psychological portraits of a man drowning in fame, grief, and self-medication. Senior Editor, NewsJames is an award-winning investigative reporter known for real-time coverage of global events.

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• 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.
• Eminem’s story reveals how depression can trap people in a harmful cycle of addiction, leading to devastating consequences like overdose.
• Today, the rapper is known as an epitome of resilience and hope and a great example of how risky prescription drug abuse can be.
• While accepting the 2018 Woman of the Year Award by the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House, a residential program for women recovering from substance and alcohol abuse, Moore spoke about the “self-destructive path” that nearly derailed her career.

Thus, he turned to running, which gave him a natural high and helped him sleep at the same time. He knew he needed to lose weight and to find a way to function sober. Eminem got serious, worked with a rehab counselor and went through a difficult and painful detoxification. He began mixing pills, adding Valium, Ambien, and Xanax to the mix. The incident led him to seek other medication, including Vicodin, to help him relax at the end of the day and help him get some sleep.

In an interview with Vibe (via The Hindu), Eminem revealed that, at one point, he overdosed on methadone. In April 2020, Eminem took to Instagram to share that he had celebrated 12 years of sobriety. Eventually, Eminem lost 90 lbs and, per Billboard, he weighs 140 lbs today. So, to shed the pounds, he took up running — and as it turned out, he had replaced one addiction with another. “The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I’d been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating — and eating badly,” he told Men’s Journal in 2015. It felt like a long time when it was happening, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t that long of a time for my problem to explode as it did.”

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“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 has candidly revealed he almost died from an overdose and how the heartbreaking moment he woke up changed his life. “I still put it off and was trying to slow down on my own, like, ‘All right I’m only gonna let myself take two pills today. I’m only gonna drink this much of my bottle and make a mark on the bottle,'” he recalled. In late 2011, he was hospitalized with pancreatitis and was told that if he didn’t stop drinking, he wouldn’t see his next birthday. “It was easier for me to say that I’m doing it for her because, at that time, I didn’t feel like I was sort of worth much,” he recalled of the early days of their relationship. Although the Parenthood alum knows that “one of the things that you’re not supposed to do is get sober for somebody else,” his relationship with now-wife Melanie Lynskey was a major reason that led him to swearing off alcohol. As he later explained on Today, he grew up in the ’60s and ’70s when “there was a completely different attitude” towards the drug.

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“I’m sticking this one out all the way,” he told People in July 2025. “It’s a daily thing. Read on for more stars who have gotten candid about their struggles with addiction. “I realized I’m not embarrassed anymore about sobriety.

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Eminem opened up about the way his struggle with drug addiction was a constant, if unseen, presence throughout much of his early career in a new as-told-to in XXL. According to the rapper, if he made it to the hospital just two hours later, he would have died from the drug overdose. When people attempted to tell him he had a problem, he didn’t believe them because he was using legally procured drugs, not heroin, cocaine or crack. But Eminem managed to get his life together and has successfully made his way through addiction recovery.

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.

As the shooting for the film continued, he developed an addiction to prescription drugs, particularly Ambien. However, this bluntness has helped the singer raise awareness in people about the dangers of abusing drugs. Today, the rapper is known as an epitome of resilience and hope and a great example of how risky prescription drug abuse can be. During the peak of his career, Eminem continued to battle alcohol and drug addiction while producing award-winning songs.

“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.

Eminem reveals how depression led to a ‘vicious cycle’ of pill abuse and overdose. If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Congratulations to Eminem for celebrating so many years of sobriety! Regardless, he’s clean and sober now, which is a good thing. “My doctor told (me that) the amount of methadone (I’d) taken was equivalent to shooting up four bags of heroin,” he said. A friend had given him the drug, which is used to wean heroin addicts off of the drug, and he would not have taken it had he known it was methadone.

You could save up to 100% of your treatment using your Insurance. His fitness-based approach to sobriety has inspired many to seek alternative ways to heal. His lyrics document his near-death experience, withdrawal, and commitment to sobriety. He has spoken openly about the challenges of maintaining sobriety and how exercise and therapy have helped him stay clean. In 2007, Eminem overdosed on methadone, mistakenly consuming an amount equivalent to four bags of heroin.

The Parent Trap actor battled a cocaine addiction throughout the ’80s that sent him to rehab in 1990. “To the youth- Stop with these dumb ass drugs,” he began his series of tweets. After the sudden death of Mac Miller, the rapper—born Shad Moss—took to Twitter to let his fans know that he’d once struggled with a cough syrup addiction. He got sober in 2021 and saw numerous positive benefits just one year later, including losing 32 pounds in seven months by cutting out alcohol and fast food. “My sort of addictions jump. They jump around. When I was younger, I definitely think I had a sex addiction of some kind, yes, that everything could be fixed by sex,” she said, before sharing about the time she realized she’d developed a troubling drinking problem.

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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.

The Princess Diaries alum shared in April 2024 that she is more than five years sober. “I discuss it every now and then when it makes sense. I’m 39 years sober. I got sober Feb. 23, 1985.” Since making the lifestyle change, Holland noticed he “could sleep better” and “handle problems better.”