On a new episode of his podcast, actor Dax Shepard revealed that he is still struggling with opioid addiction after 16 years of sobriety.
Shepard first began to use painkillers like Vicodin after suffering a motorcycle accident in 2012, he discussed in his podcast “Armchair Expert.” However, he said he started to abuse them when he was given the responsibility of making sure his late father — who had just been diagnosed with cancer — took his own painkillers.
“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,’” Shepard said, although he noted that he took more than his prescription allowed.
Eight years later, Shepard got into another motorcycle accident, in addition to breaking his hand while riding an ATV. Instead of getting a prescription from a doctor, Shepard said he began purchasing his own painkillers to self-medicate, engaging in what he described as “shady” behavior.
“I was taking, you know, eight 30s a day, and I know that’s an amount that’s going to result in a pretty bad withdrawal,” Shepard said on his podcast. “And I start getting really scared, and I’m starting to feel really lonely. And I just have this enormous secret.”
He said he tried to wean himself off of the drugs on his own, but it proved harder than expected. This month, he said he revealed his relapse to his wife, Kristen Bell, and handed over the rest of his pills.
“Day one when I’m supposed to step down, I’m like, ‘I wasn’t anticipating that this was already going to feel bad after just one less,’ so I don’t step down the first day, and then I don’t step down the second day. And now I’m really panicking,” Shepard said.
Now, Shepard has started over on his sobriety journey and celebrated his seventh day drug-free on Sept. 21. In an Instagram post announcing the podcast episode, Shepard wrote: “An episode I hoped I’d never have to record, but one I felt I owed to all the beautiful Armcheries who have been on this ride with me for the last couple years.”
Listen to the full episode here.