Stacey Dashis marking a milestone.
TheCluelessstar, 54, opened up about her addiction to painkillers and celebrated five years of sobriety onThe Dr. Oz ShowThursday. In conversation with the host, Dash revealed she was taking between 18 and 20 Vicodin pills per day at one point.
“I’m not blaming doctors at all because it was my choice to take more, you know?” she toldDr. Oz.“It was my choice to take that extra one even though I wasn’t in pain. I chose to do that because the Vicodin filled that hole inside of me.”
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She continued, “It filled that anger. It calmed that anger down. It slowed my brain down. It gave me the ease so that I could deal with life. That’s how I became addicted. It’s no one’s fault but my own.”
When Oz, 61, replied, “18-20 Vicodin a day — that’s expensive,” Dash agreed, saying “I lost everything.”
Dash has previously spoke about her history with addiction, tellingPEOPLEin 2016 that she was offered her first line of cocaine at 16-years-old.
“I couldn’t find happiness,” she said at the time. “It got to a point where I didn’t even want to live anymore. The voice in my head was saying, ‘There’s nothing here for you.’ "
Dash told Oz that her parents had also struggled with addiction, and that she better understood them after her own experience.
“The greatest blessing is that not only have I been able to be honest with myself and become a better person,” shesaid. “I’ve been able to understand my parents and that they did love me, and that they were doing the best they could and they were just sick. They were addicted.”
In a post shared toFacebookWednesday ahead of herDr. Ozappearance, Dash called her addiction her “deepest, darkest secret.”
Dash added, “I encourage anyone who has a story they are scared of telling to share it with the world. You never know who will be able to relate to you and who it can help.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
source: people.com
