English actor and comedian Russell Brand is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his sobriety, crediting those who have supported him for his success.
“I’m 20 years clean and sober today,” Brand said in an Instagram post published Tuesday. “It’s December the 13th. So, firstly, I wanted to express my gratitude for all the people who have helped me to remain clean and sober. It is never done on your own.” He described the milestone as “a community and spiritual achievement.”
“Because what I have been taught and shown is that it is impossible for a person like me not to drink and use drugs unless I have sufficient ongoing support from people that understand what it’s like to feel that drugs or alcohol, or, you know, certain behaviors are necessary in order to feel OK,” explained the 47-year-old celebrity.
Brand has not just spoken out against his struggle with drugs and alcohol. The “Death on the Nile” star has also revealed the dangers of pornography consumption. The well-known actor made headlines in 2015 when he shared his thoughts on the issue.
“Pornography reduces the spectacle of sex to a kind of extracted physical act,” he said. “[T] here’s a general feeling there in your core if you look at pornography that, ‘This isn’t what’s the best thing for me to do; this isn’t the best use of my time now.’ I don’t put that laptop lid down and think, ‘There, what a productive piece of time spent connecting with the world.'”
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“I feel like, if I had total dominion over myself, I would never look at pornography again,” Brand continued. “One day at a time, I’ll kick it out of my life.”
He also said, “Our attitudes toward sex have become warped and perverted and have deviated from its true function as an expression of love and a means for procreation because … the way we have designed and expressed it has become really, really confused.”
As for his sobriety from alcohol and drugs, Brand described it as an “awakening” from the “world of attachment,” admitting, though, that maintaining that abstinence is an “ongoing process. In the early 2000s, Russel Brand was the epitome of a party animal. Sassy, loud and funny, he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if it got him into trouble, which it often did.
When Brand and Katy Perry married in 2010, it seemed the fun was never-ending. Then it all came tumbling down. In 2014, Brand announced that he was “not interested in making money anymore.” And so, he decided to give up acting and focus on what he calls his Revolution. His steps to rid himself of drug addiction have been through meditation and exercise, which he shared with viewers, helping many along the way.
Russell Brand shows that turning your life around is possible if you’re going through difficulties. You don’t have to keep doing the destructive behaviors ruining your life. If you’re trying to change your life, take heed of Russell Brand: you can do it too.
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