Battling addiction can be difficult and Lucy Hale‘s fight has not only turned her life around but also inspired others. The ‘Pretty Little Liars’ actor related her experience of two years of sobriety. Hale decided to take control of her life from her addiction after her life “hit rock bottom”. Since, her journey has been rocky but the actor admits her “whole life has changed”.
Hale received the Humanitarian Award at the 34th annual award luncheon at the Friendly House, an addiction recovery center in Los Angeles. She related, “When I got sober, my intention was never to be the poster child of sobriety.” She continued, “But when I began speaking about it, it came from a place of needing to heal and take my power back.”
Lucy Hale Opens Up About Her Fight With Alcoholism
While relating her recovery journey, Lucy Hale got into the details of her bout with alcoholism. Talking to People she said, “Since a very young age, I always felt alone and misunderstood.” The ‘Pretty Little Liars’ actor turned to liquor abuse in her teens. However, “It worked for me for a while, until it turned really dark,” she continued. “I would’ve lost everything I cared about.”
But the actor chose otherwise and embraced a path to recovery. She said, “It took many, many, many years, many relapses, many dark moments, many falling on my face quite literally, but figuratively as well to figure out what was working in my life, finding out why I was drinking, because removing alcohol is just one part of it.”
Hale’s Career Helped Her Battle Addiction
Lucy Hale is grateful for her acting career in helping her battle addiction. She related, “Without my career and without that creative outlet, I don’t know if I would’ve made it.” Referring to ‘Pretty Little Liars’, Hale said, “I think that show and my love of what I do was my North Star truly, it really gave me purpose, and still gives me purpose. But I was constantly in this cycle of extreme depression and anxiety while having to show up to work and be on.”
She continued, “And that ‘being on’ fueled even more drinking…. I was caught in this cycle that I couldn’t get out of.”
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The ‘Puppy Love’ actor revealed that each day of sobriety is a battle and she chooses to win every day. “I still have to make the choice every day like, ‘OK, today I’m staying sober and today I’m choosing me,’ but that goes deeper than just not drinking,” Hale related. “I always had a desire to change, but with any form of addiction, you become powerless to this obsession.”
