Charlie Sheen Reflects on Sobriety Journey and Impact on Relationships
Charlie Sheen has shared insights into his sobriety journey, revealing that listening to his body was pivotal in his nearly eight years of recovery. He credits this awareness with significant personal transformation and rebuilding relationships with those closest to him.
Sheen, once known for his heavy drug and alcohol use, has been sober nearly eight years. After years of addiction and public turmoil, he said he got sober after realizing the impact his lifestyle was having on both his health and those around him. ‘It was, like, just being smart enough to start paying attention to my body,’ Sheen said on the ‘Planet Tyrus’ podcast.
The actor has been open about his struggles with addiction, which fueled a series of high-profile controversies earlier in his career, including his firing from the hit sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’ in 2011. At the time, the show had made Sheen one of the highest-paid actors on television before his contract was terminated after his third stint in rehab and a public outburst.
In recent years, Sheen has spoken about the shame he associates with those years of his life and about turning his life around since getting sober in 2017. A large part of that, he said, was rebuilding relationships with those closest to him. ‘I didn’t feel that I was available to the people that count on me the most and available in a way that they came to rely on, but then had to make adjustments based on my choices,’ he said.
During an appearance on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ Sheen revealed that his drug use got so bad that even the cartels supplying him cut him off. He said they believed he was selling the drugs rather than consuming them, given the huge quantities he went through.
In 2015, Sheen announced he was HIV positive. He got sober about two years later. Since then, he’s written a memoir, ‘The Book of Sheen,’ and was the subject of a Netflix documentary series released in September.
Reflecting on his journey, Sheen said it was the effects of his behavior on those around him that ultimately pushed him to change. ‘I got really tired of just disappointing people,’ he said. ‘And, ultimately, letting myself down.’