Recovery is a choice you make each and every day, and it isn’t always easy. On his popular podcast, “Armchair Expert,” Dax Shepard gets candid about his own recovery journey. The actor, writer, director, and podcast host relapsed after 16 years of recovery. Formally addicted to alcohol and cocaine, Shepard relapsed with prescription painkillers, which he started taking after a motorcycle accident in 2012.
Knowing his history, Shepard’s wife, actress Kristen Bell, helped him take Vicodin responsibly to manage his pain. When Shepard was in charge of administering pain medication to his ailing father, however, he began to struggle.
In Shepard’s own words:
“So I give him a bunch of Percocet and then I go, 'I have a prescription for this, and I was in a motorcycle accident, and I'm gonna take some too… [I] probably took twice of what my other prescription was.”
After this incident, Shepard started panicking and confessed to Bell right away. His wife comforted him, and he was able to move on.
In 2020, Shepard suffered several more injuries and started getting “shadier and shadier” with his painkiller use. When his prescriptions weren’t enough to fill his cravings, he started purchasing pills for the first time. He knew he had a problem when he began lying to the people around him.
Shepard celebrated his 16th year of sobriety at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting while high on painkillers and called the experience “the worst hour of [his] life.” He later came clean to his podcast co-host and his wife at the same time. He gave them all his remaining pills, apologized, and shared his story during a meeting after being off opiates for just 24 hours.
With help from his loved ones, Shepard was able to overcome feelings of fear, loneliness, and embarrassment and feel optimistic for the first time in a long time.
Knowing that so many people were inspired by his public sobriety stories, Shepard shared his story on the “Armchair Expert” podcast when he was 7 days sober from prescription pills. According to Shepard, he is still “very proud” of being 16 years sober from alcohol and cocaine and feels like his life is going to get better once again without pills. Shepard’s wife and fans have been “nothing but supportive.”
What We Can Learn From Shepard’s Story
Physical and emotional pain drives many people to use and abuse prescription drugs. Nevertheless, no matter what you are going through, drugs are never the answer. In fact, if Shepard’s story is any indication, substances tend to make things worse.
Shepard’s honest confession also reveals the fear, loneliness, and shame that comes with addiction. While these feelings were real for Shepard, he ultimately had nothing to be ashamed of and received nothing but love and support when he shared his struggle with those around them.
Thanks to this love and support, he also has hope for the future. For Shepard, life without drugs and alcohol is better.
The same could be true for you.
Discover a life without drugs and alcohol at Decision Point Center.
Our programs and therapies can give you the skills you need to battle addiction and a community that believes in you wholeheartedly.
Hope begins here. Call us at (844) 292-5010 or contact us online to get started today.