His drug abuse and alcoholism was never really a secret, but Matthew is now sharing more about what he was really going through.
It Started Before Friends
Matthew admits that it all started before Friends. Originally from Massachusetts and raised in Canada, Matthew Perry made his way to Los Angeles as he entered high school. He was young and trying to make it in Hollywood, planning to attend college, but was offered a role on the TV show, Second Chance. At 24, he landed the role as Chandler, which made Matthew Perry a household name.Matthew says that he was actively using during most of the show’s 10-year-run, and during that time he was never high or drunk while working, but admits he was “painfully hungover,” as he puts it.
Tried Rehab Twice
While playing Chandler Bing, Perry tried rehab twice. The first time: a 28-day inpatient program in 1997 for Vicodin addiction. Perry was drinking heavily and using prescription painkillers (mainly Vicodin) past the point of pain relief that lead to the prescription, following a ski accident, and it was time to stop. Rehab was unsuccessful though. Matthew kept working, and kept using.The second time in rehab was in 2001 for Vicodin, alcohol, methadone, and amphetamine addiction. It was again unsuccessful.
Serving Sara
While filming the movie, Serving Sara, co-starring Elizabeth Hurley, Matthew experienced incredible abdominal pains, which ended up being pancreatitis (presumably linked to substance abuse.) The medical scare shook Matthew Perry to the point of sobriety. He knew it was time to change his life, so he checked into the Daniel Freeman Hospital in Marina del Rey, California.Matthew Perry has reportedly been sober since 2002.
Why Didn't Rehab Work
Why didn’t rehab work for him when it works for millions of others? What kept the tools for recovery from sinking in and resonating with Matthew?A big part of his struggle could have been an undiagnosed mental illness. We are all familiar with narcissism, but not many people outside the world of mental health treatment realize that it is a true mental illness. When clinically diagnosed, there is a whole set of treatment modalities and approaches that are unique to that particular disorder.
Dual Diagnosis Treatment
Dual diagnosis treatment helps an individual who has been diagnosed with any combination of two or more of the following: an addiction, a mental illness, or an eating disorder. If a person has two disorders, but only one is being treated, then there is a whole other set of symptoms that are left untreated. Matthew Perry may have been one of those people.As Matthew reflects, now that he’s sober and can look back at who he was at that time, he shares that, “I was a hopelessly narcissistic guy, and I only thought about myself, and then that just shifted, and when that happened, I got some true happiness and comfort in my life."
Matthew Perry has found that “true happiness” by helping others navigate their sobriety, recovery, and happiness.
Jared Friedman is the quality improvement manager for Sovereign Health Group, a dual diagnosis treatment center that helps people with mental health and substance abuse addiction recovery learn more at http://www.sovcal.com.
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