Dax Shepard Opens Up About His Relapse After 16 Years Of Sobriety
Making an appearance on the latest episode of Armchair Expert podcast, Dax Shepard confessed that he has been battling an opioid addiction after 16 years of sobriety. During the new episode of the podcast, he revealed that he is newly sober after a recent relapse after several years of being sober.
Taking to his Instagram account to announce the episode, Shepard confessed that he hoped he would never have to record this episode, but felt he owed to all the "Armcheries" who have been by his side for the last couple of years.
The episode features Shepard, who is known for his role on Parenthood, a role which Insider suggests he nearly turned down because he didn't think a long-distance relationship with Kristen Bell would work, talking about the challenges he faced in his journey.
The 45-year-old actor opens up about his latest addiction with the opioid painkiller Vicodin. Although he originally took them for injuries, Shepard goes on to reveal that he has been "on them all day" for the last eight weeks.
Things got worse and he began taking as many as eight 30s a day. He says he realized that he was consuming an amount that would result in a pretty bad withdrawal, and he started getting really scared and started feeling very lonely. "And I just have this enormous secret," he added.
Initially, Shephard said he tried to fix the problem by himself and slowly reduced the number of pills he was consuming daily, but that didn't work. This month, the Zathura: A Space Adventure actor revealed his addiction to his friends and wife Kristen Bell.
As of Sept. 25, Shephard was on day 11 of being sober once again. He has dealt with addictions to alcohol and cocaine previously but now claims that he hasn't touched alcohol for the last 16 years. The actor has not shied away from discussing his recovery journey, opening up about his past on his podcast and in various interviews.
Shepard said he was prescribed Vicodin following a motorcycle accident on his way to the set of Parenthood back in 2012. Kristen was the only person allowed to administer the drugs. After a trip to his ailing father, who was taking Percocet at the same time following a prescription, Shepard said he and his father took Percocet together.
Shepard recalls that although he and his father were both addicts, they never used anything together, but he took Percocet with his father for the first time, he felt elated and just happy looking at the lake.