Like other talented and creative people, many actors use and abuse drugs, often as self-medication. Sometimes they risk addiction.
Philip Seymour Hoffman used drugs and alcohol a lot. “It was anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all.” He has also commented that “Film is a very uncomfortable medium for an actor. It’s just not conducive to doing what actors do.”
Russell Brand: “Drugs and alcohol are not my problem, reality is my problem, drugs and alcohol are my solution.”
Addiction psychologist Marc F. Kern, Ph.D. notes, “Altering one’s state of consciousness is normal…a destructive habit or addiction is mostly an unconscious strategy…an adaptation that has gone awry.”
Colin Farrell said he is finding that he is more creative being sober and happy.
Read more in much longer article: Actors and Addiction.
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Douglas Eby (M.A./Psychology) is author of the The Creative Mind series of sites which provide “Information and inspiration to help creative people thrive.”
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