Eminem Just Celebrated Ten Years of Sobriety in a Remarkable Way

Way of LifeMay 1, 2018

Eminem is a talented music artist who has accumulated a number of accolades throughout his career, but none of his musical achievements compare to his most recent landmark after he hit 10 of sobriety last week and celebrated the news on social media in a remarkable way.

Rapper Eminem shared a photo of his 10-year-sobriety medal – an Alcoholics Anonymous chip – with millions of Instagram followers

10 Years Sober!

Last Saturday marked 10 years of sobriety for 45-year-old rapper Eminem who shared his remarkable achievement with his 1.6 million Instagram followers by posting a picture of a 10-year Alcoholics Anonymous chip which had a triangle with an X in the middle for 10 years, and the words ‘unity’, ‘service’ and ‘recovery’ written on it.

Fans rushed to congratulate the musician by posting comments of well wishes under his photo, and many of them shared heart-warming stories of recovery with their idol. ‘So proud and inspired. I celebrated 4 years last month!’ one fan said.

In 2002, Eminem – whose real name is Marshall Mathers – found himself tumbling down a dangerous path of addiction to drugs and prescription medication like Valium, Vicodin, and Ambien which almost killed him in an accidental overdose in 2007.

Road to Recovery

The Recovery album sold over 740,000 copies in the first week of its release

The rapper tried going to rehab for a few weeks in 2005, but as soon he was outside, the addiction returned, this time, more severe than before. After the death of his best friend DeShaun, Eminem fell in an even more dangerous tailspin, and it wasn’t until he came face to face with his own death from methadone overdose two years later when he finally realized that he needed serious help.

In 2007, Eminem decided to say goodbye to his drug habit once and for all. Two years after going clean the artist released the album ‘Recovery’ to highlight his fight against addiction and how he finally overcame it.

In an interview, Eminem said that he first started using drugs in his early 20s when his career took off. The addiction was a dangerous side-effect of the afterparties that came with fame and fortune. Drugs were everywhere he went but once he got off tour, he could return home to his kids and forget about everything.

Losing a Friend and Gaining Weight

The addiction became more serious during the filming of 8 Mile when the star took Ambien to help him sleep but soon became addicted to it. The more he used, the higher his tolerance became, throwing him in a dangerous spiral of drug abuse.

After he got off probation in 2003, he no longer had to take routine urine tests which made the situation worse. The rapper admitted to using copious amounts of drugs every night during his Anger Management tour. His addiction became so extreme that, at one point, he was taking up to 60 Valiums and 30 Vicodins a day and was only able to sleep for 2 hours at night before waking up with an intense craving for more drugs.

In 2006, the rapper lost his best friend DeShaun Dupree in a shooting incident, and he drowned his sorrows in more drugs. Eminem said that after losing the man he loved and trusted the most, he had shut everyone out and would spend most of his day crying and taking pills. During the years of his addiction, he gained more than 80 pounds and was eating at McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day. At one point, people couldn’t even recognize him because of his weight.

After overdosing on Methadone, the singer was taken to the hospital where doctors told him that he was only two hours away from dying

The Night He Almost Died

On the night of the overdose, the rapper had taken quite a few methadone pills and had collapsed on the bathroom floor in the middle of the night. When he gained consciousness, he found himself in the hospital, paralyzed and attached to tubes. The doctors told him that he had overdosed on Methadone and taken drugs equivalent to two bags of heroine.

Three weeks after being discharged from the hospital, he had relapsed and was taking just as many drugs as before. That’s when he found himself at a difficult crossroads: either get help or die.

Eminem started seeing a rehab therapist every week and running seventeen miles every day to lose weight. The 45-year-old has now been sober for 10 years and says that he no longer feels the temptation to use even if he is at a party and surrounded by drugs. His children, biological daughter Hailie and adopted daughters Whitney and Lainey, have played a huge role in keeping him on track.