Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash is celebrating 15 years of being sober.
The rocker first began dabbling in drugs and alcohol in the mid-80s, when he was a teenager, but finally decided to get clean in 2006. Over the weekend, he celebrated 15 years of sobriety — an accomplishment that his girlfriend Meegan Hodges acknowledged on social media over the weekend.
"Baby, Congratulations on your 15 YEARS of SOBRIETY!" she wrote in an Instagram post. "An addict who achieves recovery is capable of achieving anything." (wise words someone said) I am so very proud of you every day but today I am so very extra proud of you. I love you to the moon and back!"
At the height of his addiction, Slash was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, which is a type of congestive heart failure caused by his chronic substance abuse, according to Yahoo! Entertainment. He was given between six days and six weeks to live but he beat the odds. It was not enough to convince him to get sober though. The decision only came six years later.
"I just really got to a point where I wasn’t enjoying it anymore," he told Yahoo! Entertainment. "I mean, God knows I probably have my fair share of psychological misadventures, but I got into booze and drugs mostly just to kill time. I mean, it starts out for fun, and then you use it in between shows, after a show, before the next show, that kind of thing."
Slash explained that he went over the edge when the band finished touring and was off the road.
"I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. So that’s just something that before you know it, you’ve got a real physical, and as it happens, psychological addiction going on," he said. "And you just keep managing it, and managing it, and it takes its toll eventually. It catches up with you."
In 2007, Slash also opened up about his battle with alcohol in an autobiography.
"I wasn’t fine. But I was almost ready to admit it," he wrote, according to NME. "I knew that my debauchery needed to end. I had planned to get some space from my wife and from my band after I’d allowed myself those predetermined four months to let it all hang out; I knew I was in need of some solace and quiet."
Slash recalled spending 30 days in rehab, where he "fully surrendered." First, he kicked his drug habit, and then he ditched alcohol.
"I learned more about myself than I ever thought was possible," he noted. "And I’ve been sober ever since."
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Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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