Celebrities often seem like they live life to excess. Many famous men and women had or have problems with alcohol or drug addiction. Celebrity news network seem to regularly air stories about stars and their encounters with the law over substance abuse. Although this may appear to be the standard for the rich and famous, many celebrities have decided that they and drug and alcohol addiction don’t mix. Here are just a few.

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt has been sober for about six months. He said he didn’t have a handle on his drinking and drug use anymore. He said that he had been “boozing too much” for three decades and it was time to stop. Lately, he has switched alcohol for cranberry juice and, to help his recovery, is seeing a therapist to cope with “running from his feelings.”

Russell Brand

He spent years smoking heroin rather than deal with problems in real life. He has been arrested for drug-related offenses 12 different times. But since 2003, he has given up his drug addiction and instead now uses transcendental meditation to help him get through everyday stresses. He even serves as a sponsor for others.

Brand wrote an article in 2013 about how hard it is to not return to a life of drug addiction. When difficult things come his way, he is still tempted to return to heroin. Brand said, speaking about the difficulty of sobriety, “The price of this [being drug and alcohol free for 10 years] is constant vigilance because the disease of addiction is not rational.” The entire article can be found here and is excellent for anyone going through struggles with addiction.

Bradley Cooper

He is currently one of the top stars in Hollywood, but when he was getting his star he had a serious struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. “If I continued it, I was really going to sabotage my whole life,” he said. When he finally got sober, he found his situation improved immensely and he started on the path to become the household name that he is today.

These celebrities and many others are proving that you don’t have to drink or do drugs to make it big. All the actors on this list struggled with addiction and are proof that recovery and sobriety are possible, no matter who you are.

Links:

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/mar/09/russell-brand-life-without-drugs

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/bradley-cooper-talks-drugs-alcohol-addiction-says-he-wanted-to-kill-myself-on-alias-set-20131712

http://elitedaily.com/entertainment/celebrities-that-never-drink-alcohol/1558777/

http://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-quit-drinking/celebrity-lists

http://www.livescience.com/59035-brad-pitt-stopped-drinking-alcohol-addiction-explained.html