Struggling With Depression, Eminem Says Vicious Cycle Led to Overdose: I’m Going To Die

« And then one day he came in studio like, ‘Why yours is different color than mine?’ It killed me. » « I’m sticking this one out all the way,” he told People in July 2025. « It’s a daily thing. But I have finally done what has been suggested amongst the sober community, and my life has flipped in a positive way. » Beyond the health scare, he was compelled to fight back against his addiction after missing the birthday party of his and ex Kim Scott’s daughter Hailie Jade, now 29.

Alcoholism and Personality Changes

The documentary was available to watch in AMC Theatres from Thursday, Aug. 7 to Sunday, Aug. 10. If fans missed it, the film will be available to stream internationally on Paramount+ later this year. Eminem’s path to recovery played a big role in shaping his 2009 album Relapse. I woke up in the hospital with tubes in me and s–t and I couldn’t get up,” recalled the “Stan” artist, according to Us Weekly. Shortly after going into recovery, Eminem put pen to paper and gave us his 2009 album Relapse in the process, and although he admits the reception from fans for the record was ‘lukewarm’, it spurred him further.

Alcohol

The reason why Eminem managed to cut loose was the desire to support the family. The loss of time with his daughter caused him to understand that it was a life-or-death situation. These days, his message helps others find their strength among their loved ones and find help in the early stages. Sobriety is not only quitting the drugs, but recovering life and meaning. Eminem was subject to a maniacal spiral of depression that resulted in intensified addiction and it can be backed by scientific studies. A study published on PubMed shows that the simultaneous occurrence of depression and substance abuse happens frequently, and each condition aggravates the other.

The Fight Club star spent years struggling with alcohol before Cooper helped him get sober. « I got sober because of this guy, » he told the audience at the 2020 National Board of Review Annual Awards after Cooper presented him with a trophy. In 2018, the Halloween star got very candid about her 10-year addiction to opiates, which began in the late ’80s after a minor plastic surgery « for my hereditary puffy eyes. » The reslt was a prescription that changed her life. Cyrus shared in 2022 that she’s been in recovery for her Xanax addiction since 2020. « It gave me so much structure in the time that I really needed structure, because I didn’t want to just be sitting around and stirring in my brain, » she told Rolling Stone. The documentary features a « highly curated cast of real-life stans » with personal connections to Eminem and his music.

But Eminem managed to get his life together and has successfully made his way through addiction recovery. Eminem even admitted that he took running to an extreme when he started running up to 17 miles per day on his treadmill. His routine involved running eight and a half miles every morning and another set when he got home from the studio. This intense schedule soon took a toll on his health, and he tore his hip flexors.

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But this bluntness has helped raise awareness of the real dangers of prescription drugs. Mathers also spoke out about his road to recovery in an episode of Paul Rosenberg’s Paul Pod podcast in 2022, revealing how kicking the booze and drugs made him enjoy making music again as he felt genuinely ‘happy’. The ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker said he was embroiled in a ‘vicious cycle’ of feeling what was eminem addicted to ‘depressed’ and needing ‘more pills’ back in 2007 when one day, he happened to wake up in hospital. The Parent Trap actor battled a cocaine addiction throughout the ’80s that sent him to rehab in 1990. As he later explained on Today, he grew up in the ’60s and ’70s when « there was a completely different attitude » towards the drug.

Exercising His Way to Recovery

« I didn’t care as much about hurting myself as I did about hurting her. So, initially it was easier for me to say, ‘I’m doing this for her.’ And now, I’m doing it for myself. » After an incident in Newport Beach where the Olympic swimmer tried to kick in his own hotel room door, Lochte made the decision to seek treatment in 2018. « Ryan has been battling from alcohol addiction for many years and unfortunately it has become a destructive pattern for him, » his rep told E! « He has acknowledged that he needs professional assistance to overcome his problem and will be getting help immediately. » With the dual releases of her fourth studio album No Shame and memoir My Thoughts Exactly, the singer spent much of 2018 getting brutally honest about the height of her addition problems. After publicly celebrating six years of sobriety on tour in 2018, the singer stunned fans later that same year with the release of the confessional single « Sober, » which revealed that she had relapsed.

“Stans” — which not only offers a look into Eminem’s life and career, but some of the fans who are wholly obsessive with him — hit theaters on Thursday for a limited run. The truthfulness of Eminem about his troubles reminds us that even those who look the strongest and most assured have some battles deep inside. However, a person can recover and seeking assistance can change the situation. Eminem—born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 17, 1972—is a rapper, music producer, songwriter, record executive, and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album The Slim Shady LP.

Overcoming addiction is possible, and maintaining sobriety is highly achievable in the long run. The successful addiction recovery journey from Eminem’s life proves this point. While everyone may not have to go through similar struggles, no one must go through them alone.

After recovering from this injury, Eminem tried mixing things up by incorporating Body Beast, P90X, and Shaun T’s Insanity workout in his daily routine. With time, Eminem successfully lowered his body weight to 149 pounds without harming his body. When Eminem’s loved ones became concerned, they reached out and tried telling him about his problem, but the rapper did not believe them as he was under the impression that legal drugs did not cause addiction like heroin, cocaine, or crack. Still, after persistent reminders from loved ones, he decided to attend rehab in 2005 but dropped it because of an unpleasant experience. In his recent documentary Stans, Eminem reveals the dark moments of his addiction journey. He described being caught in a “vicious cycle” where depression led him to take more pills, which only made things worse.

Eminem Addiction: The Near-Fatal Overdose Experience

• The rapper, with his unapologetic and sincere lyrics, has revealed the details of how alcoholism and prescription drugs almost murdered him.
• The lesson is particularly important for children who are xsquick to idolize celebrities.
• Hence, he resorted to running, which helped him experience a natural high while regulating his sleep at night.
• « That was the first time I ever realized I had a problem with drugs and alcohol⁠, » Cooper recalled during a 2022 appearance on the Smartless podcast.

« I feel like there’s a defining moments in our lives that shape who we are and the direction we go and early in my career, I was spiraling down a path of real self-destruction and no matter what successes I had, I just never felt good enough, » the star recalled. « I had absolutely no value for myself and this self-destructive path, it very quickly brought me to a real crisis point and it wasn’t clear at the time the reason. Maybe it was divine intervention. » At the time, Eminem was coming off a « vicious cycle » of feeling « depressed » and needing « more pills. » Then, one day, he woke up in the hospital. In 2011, Eminem publicly opened up about his struggles with addiction while giving an interview to The New York Times. According to him, the singer struggles with addiction to Ambien, Valium, and Vicodin.

« Drinking caused weight gain, » he told Today in September 2022, « but it also weighed down my mental state. » « Mama, I’m so sorry I’m not sober anymore / And Daddy please forgive me for the drinks spilled on the floor / To the ones who never left me / We’ve been down this road before I’m so sorry, I’m not sober anymore, » she sang. « For the last eight weeks maybe, I don’t really know…I’m on them all day, » he said on his Armchair Expert podcast. « And I’m allowed to be on them at some dosage because I have a prescription and then I’m also augmenting that. » Eventually, channeling his energy back into his music helped the Oscar winner on his sobriety journey.

He said that when he looked at his children, he realized that he needed to be present for them. « I realized I’m not embarrassed anymore about it, and I started treating sobriety like a superpower. I was proud of the fact that I could quit. » In his new documentary Stans, the “Mockingbird” rapper reflected on his past habit of abusing prescription pills—including Vicodin, Valium, Ambien and Xanax—starting in the late ‘90s until around 2008, resulting in a dangerous health scare.

Anxiety After Drinking

Eminem addiction first began when he started using drugs that many used to consider harmless since they were legally available. These drugs largely included prescription opioids, and the singer started using them as he was working long hours with very little time to work in between to rest properly. An acquaintance first introduced the singer to a pill that helped him sleep more easily, and according to Eminem, it helped him feel pain-free and relaxed.

• After recovering from this injury, Eminem tried mixing things up by incorporating Body Beast, P90X, and Shaun T’s Insanity workout in his daily routine.
• Since making the lifestyle change, Holland noticed he « could sleep better » and « handle problems better. »
• Following this, the singer experienced a major setback when he got involved in a major overdose involving methadone.
• After the sudden death of Mac Miller, the rapper—born Shad Moss—took to Twitter to let his fans know that he’d once struggled with a cough syrup addiction.
• When he was better, the rapper tried to mix things up by incorporating Shaun T’s Insanity workout, P90X, and Body Beast into his routine.

The country star has been sober for nearly a decade, but it was a hard-fought road getting there. His addiction to alcohol and pain pills began soon after graduating from high school and didn’t abate when his career began to take off. As Eminem’s career took off during the early 2000s, he had the opportunity to star in a dramatic film named 8 Mile. As the shooting for the film continued, he developed an addiction to prescription drugs, particularly Ambien. According to the singer, he started using this pill to sleep peacefully between the shooting scenes but became dependent on them.