Actress Hayden Panettiere, 32, is opening up for the first time about her struggles with addiction in an emotional interview.
When celebrities open up about their struggles with addiction and their sobriety journeys, it helps normalize these kinds of conversations and journeys for their fans and for the world at large. Nashville and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere is sharing her story for the first time in a brutally honest interview.
"I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction," Hayden said.
"My saving grace is that I couldn't be messy while on set and working," she continued. "But things kept getting out of control [off set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn't live without."
"I'd think I hit rock bottom, but then there's that trap door that opens," Hayden revealed. At a low point, Hayden revealed, "I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol."
"[My partner] didn't want to be around me," she said. "I didn't want to be around me. But with the opiates and alcohol I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I'd feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction."
Hayden explained that after a stint in rehab, inpatient treatment, and trauma therapy, she feels she's in a better place now.
"It's an everyday choice, and I'm checking in with myself all the time," Hayden revealed. "But I'm just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again."
h/t: People
