Miley Cyrus turned 28 years old on Monday, November 23rd. She’s probably mad that she’s not a Scorpio! But so many performers and pop stars are Sagittariuses (Sagittari?), so it makes sense. To celebrate her birthday, Miley spoke to Zane Lowe at New Music Daily, and she ended up talking about her struggle with sobriety. After she left Liam Hemsworth and got with Cody Simpson, she began to try to clear herself up a bit. She basically went clean and sober at the start of 2020 and she only really announced it when she was six months in. She hasn’t talked about being in a program, but I assumed she has some sort of sobriety structure. Turns out, she slipped and she told Zane Lowe that she’s currently been sober for two weeks.
Miley on falling off the wagon: “Well, I, like a lot of people, being completely honest, during the pandemic fell off and felt really a lot of … and I would never sit here and go, ‘I’ve been f—ing sober.” I didn’t, and I fell off and I realized that I now am back on sobriety, two weeks sober, and I feel like I really accepted that time. One of the things I’ve used is, ‘Don’t get furious, get curious.’ So don’t be mad at yourself, but ask yourself, ‘What happened?’ ”
She “didn’t choose to make a statement” after she broke her previous sobriety. “To me, it was a f— up because I’m not a moderation person, and I don’t think that everyone has to be f—ing sober. I think everyone has to do what is best for them. I don’t have a problem with drinking. I have a problem with the decisions I make once I go past that level of … Even into, I’ve just been wanting to wake up 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”
Yeah, she’s in a program: “I’m very disciplined. Yeah, very disciplined. That’s why it’s never easy, but it’s pretty easy for me to be sober or in and out of sobriety because it’s like the day I don’t want to f—ing do it anymore, I don’t. The day that I do, I do. You know? But when I don’t want to it just is. I’m just very disciplined.”
She didn’t want to join the 27 Club: “Twenty-seven to me was a year that I really had to protect myself. That actually really made me want to get sober was because we’ve lost so many icons at 27. It’s a very pivotal time. You go into that next chapter or this is it for you. I just feel that some of the artists that almost couldn’t handle their own power and their own energy and their own force. It’s an energy. I, no matter what, was born with that.”
I remember reading an interview with the late Robin Williams years ago, where he was talking about going back to AA and really trying to get sober in what would turn out to be his final years. Williams told a story about going to his first AA meeting and getting hammered soon after he left the meeting, and how he told his sponsor and the rest of the people that he slipped at the next meeting. And they were like “yeah, that happens, most of us have done that, good for you for coming back.” My point is… people slip. People in programs f–k up and relapse and it’s part of the process. I appreciate that Miley is talking about this sh-t within her own comfort level, and that she’s not pretending that she hasn’t slipped. It’s so valuable to people who are struggling, who aren’t sure that a program will work for them to hear Miley talk about it in a matter-of-fact way.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
This year has been a trial for sobriety. I know folks who have been 10+ years sober and had a relapse, myself included.
Good on her for getting back on track.
Very best wishes on your journey to recovery, Enis. It’s not easy even in good times, which this is not.
For sure. Congratulations! @Enis on your 10+ years of sobriety AND your courage in talking out loud about the relapse. It’s that willingness and self-awareness and openness that I have faith will accompany you on your 10+ years. All the best
Yes, I think it’s good to talk about it in this way. Feeling like you failed or are a failure isn’t going to do anyone any good. I like what she says about not getting furious, but curious. Seems a more healthy approach that’s actually going to give you more insight into the why.
Agreed.
I even like her cliche get curious comment.
We know this for lots of things, it takes time and dedication to make such a significant change, and having a bad day or back sliding doesn’t erase the progress you made.
I can’t remember if I’ve seen number, but I’m pretty sure most people relapse quite a few times before it sticks.
Hopefully the curious comes before the relapse…I’ve been clean & sober 25yrs actually have been disciplined enough to not think of myself as having a terminally unique “energy”. I was bored enough of my own fing up that I left that one day at a time. I also realize I need mood stabilizer meds after really trying the natural way for decades. It’s okay to need help but work hard to listen & WORK.
I gotta remember the curious not furious next time I find myself beating myself up about something. I’ve been trying to be kinder to myself, treat myself as well as I would treat someone else – !
Interesting that she claims she has a lot of discipline(when she decides),i could be wrong but wouldnt someone in and out of recovery be the exact opposite of disciplined.
Noki, addiction involves an intricate web of genetic, biological, emotional, and societal issues that even scientists don’t fully understand. A person who can have immense self discipline in other areas can succumb to an addiction over and over. It’s a living hell on earth, so I hope readers will root for her and others instead of judging them as lacking in “self discipline”.
I know relapse is a prison of the self that no outer heaven can change. But…if Miley keeps thinking she’s terminally unique with that icon energy or whatever….she may not be willing or humble enough to listen. Sobriety isn’t that complex- it takes humility to be Not so complex & work an actual program.
Addiction is a mental health disorder, it’s not about personal failings or qualities.
The self discipline idea has been out of fashion in psych for a very very long time.
The thing is, you can be incredibly disciplined 99.99% of the time and then slip up in the 00.01% That’s still incredibly disciplined.
Addiction is a mental health disorder and it can affect the most disciplined people in the world. It can affect elite Olympic athletes, world-class performers, scholars–all manner of disciplined people have suffered from addiction. Addiction is not a reflection on a person’s character. It just is not.
Everyone is different when it comes to sobriety and “falling off the wagon” happens usually to everyone at least once and for some, many times. It takes how ever long it takes to reach sobriety. Everyone’s trip is different.
I like what she has to say about this because, in my experience at least, it’s the spiral of shame and self-flagellation afterward that perpetuates the cycle. So asking “what led to me breaking my good habit?” is more useful and beneficial than melting down over a slip-up. I also like that she explains that *for her*, “success” is “all or nothing” because she can’t drink moderately… but she doesn’t expect that definition of success to work for everyone. Great interview.
This year has been A LOT without adding demons we have to fight every day on top of it. I commend for her speaking about it and continuing to try and stay sober. I’m really enjoying her album so far and hope she finds lots of success in it!
I’m not a fan of hers but I wish her nothing but the best in her sobriety. This has been a terrible year.
This year is tough for everyone.
I have a friend who is a recovering alchoolic, and he achieved his amazing 10 years of sobriety this summer! We threw a little party this summer.
Same here. Wish her the best. This has certainly been a trying time for everyone.
No
What a year to try and stay sober. I wish her the best.
Agreed.
I stopped drinking this year and it’s been difficult. I started drinking more and more during this administration to the point where I was drinking to get drunk everyday. I never imagined I’d be at the point where alcohol was a crutch but it got there.
I hate a lot about Miley but I don’t hate this, at all. I actually feel a bit uplifted reading this. It’ll be helpful for tomorrow when all of my family is going to be drinking wine all day.
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone but especially all my fellow sober peeps. Stay strong tomorrow. We got this!
I’m right there with you. I’ve spent huge swaths of time not drinking or mostly not drinking, but the creep has been progressive over the last 4 years. The tension is just unbearable and it’s way too easy to go from “a couple here and there” to “a few everyday.” I had way too many on election night and I’m done. It is really not worth it in every way.
Tomorrow’s going to be hard for a lot of us. For me, it’s more about grief, and those I lost this year due to illness or their own addiction. I’ll be thinking of all us, and to anyone struggling tomorrow – extra love <3
Er, referring to herself as an icon? And being born with an energy? Oh the special snowflake syndrome is out of control with her. I can’t believe she is 28, she’s an adult! And acts like a tween.
Agree, she was thinking, ‘oh no I’m 27, I better not die like you know the rest of the other icons like me’
Like her or not, she is a world famous working performer and there is a lot of pressure that goes along with it. She’s also the biggest breadwinner in her family, and has been for years. She decided to stop being so messy so as not to go down the path that so many others have. Sure, it’s immodest to use the word icon… but she’s not wrong to mention this aspect of fame and what it has done to many people.
Yes! Not surprised she chose these words… an icon in her own mind.
The way I read it, she never said she was an icon – She said we’ve lost a lot of icons at 27. I’m sure with some of the things she’s gone through, she had people who loved her [I hope] warning her there’s a point you either turn around or go all the way down with this disease; and it’s no discriminator, doesn’t care if you’re an icon or not, it’ll kill you just the same.
I’m no Miley fan or apologist, but I for one am glad she made that turn. Keep it up, Miley.
Exactly.
@ chanteloup if you read the entire paragraph, she is for sure thinking highly of herself. I’m not an apologist either and I don’t celebrity worship because it’s all a farce. I wish anyone well with sobriety but this interview just reeked of superiority.
@ Mette, I did read the whole paragraph, and will agree to disagree :- )
Maybe because I remember feeling the exact same feeling myself, and I didn’t and don’t feel superior to anyone
All the best
@chanteloup agree to disagree! You don’t act superior at all and I wish you the best!
Being a Sagittarius is exhausting. That’s all I got! From a fellow Sagittarius 😩
Trump had me drinking too much too, I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one. I even drank way too much the night Biden won because I was kind of recapping all of the terrible things that had been happening to the country and was terrified that Trump was instantly announcing “fraud” and “recounts”. I’ve been working on not drinking and tomorrow is going to be rough for sure but health first!
🙂 Health first!
As someone who is newly sober (150 days!) I love that she’s being so open about her process. I personally feel at times feel like I am so alone in this journey and it’s nice to know that I am not.
You’re not alone! Wishing you the best
I think she’ll get sober/clean many times in her lifetime… and probably make a statement about it each time.
She’s in denial saying she doesn’t have a problem with drinking, it’s making decisions. That is Classic addiction denial. It’s very Paltrow of her to say she’s an icon. More like cliché. Child star grows up in the celebrity bubble, copes with drugs and alcohol, sounds familiar.
However much I dislike Miley as a celebrity in other ways, her openness about her sobriety and addiction is commendable. Recovery is almost never a straight line, relapses are common, and if her openness helps even one other person who struggles with addiction, then it is a net-positive outcome as far as I’m concerned. I wish her all the best.