Musician-turned-actor Ashley Walters has likened conquering his addiction issues to breaking up with a partner – revealing he wrote a letter to the “disease” as they parted ways in rehab.
Ashley Walters has likened conquering his addiction issues to breaking up with a partner.
The former So Solid Crew star, 42, spent two decades battling alcohol addiction but he’s been sober for five years since kicking the habit during a stint in rehab and he’s revealed that during his treatment he wrote a letter to the “disease” as they parted ways.
He told Men’s Health magazine: “Alcoholism is a disease. I didn’t realise until I got some professional help that it centres in the mind. It’s not the drug or drink of choice that’s the issue.
“The easy part is to stop consuming alcohol, or whatever. The hard part is dealing with the problem in your head. But if you don’t remedy that part, you’re always going to end up going back to drinking because that problem still exists.”
He added: “I remember I was in rehab and I wrote a letter to my addiction like a relationship gone wrong. I was like: ‘Unfortunately, we’ve got to part ways’.”
Ashley explained he first turned to booze to help him deal with social situations that made him feel awkward and it spiralled out of control, saying: “I became the life of the party. I had some sort of control. I was fearless.
“People may not like me saying it, but for a minute alcohol was the cure to the biggest problem that I felt I had. But the thing is, alcohol or drugs’ main aim is to isolate you. Its main aim is to take everything away from you, so it has you by yourself and then at that point, it tries to kill you.”
Since giving up booze, Ashley now tries to challenge himself by embracing social situations that were previously difficult for him.
He explained: “I turn up now and force myself into situations that I probably would have shied away from before, just to test how good I am at striking up conversations or being around people.”
Ashley – who is dad to seven children as well as a step-son – now has a happy home life and recently revealed he gathered his family around for regular Sunday lunches where they can talk about their life and their problems.
He told the Daily Mail newspaper: “Have Sunday lunch with your kids and lock their devices away. That’s what we do.
“Every Sunday my wife puts our children’s devices in a safe and we all have lunch together and talk. …
“A problem shared is a problem halved. It’s real. It works. If we can talk about it, it can make us less angry. We talk about a problem and we can be less depressed about it.”
Ashley Walters ‘broke up’ with addiction in rehab
