For some time now, Jada Pinkett Smith has used her Facebook page as a reflective journal/advice column for herself and her fans. In a recent FB post Pinkett Smith gave one of her most candid reflections to date as she discussed her past struggles with addiction.
“Yesterday I turned one year older, and I reflected on where I have been and where I am now. What I learned about myself is this, when I was younger I was not a good problem solver, meaning I had a very difficult time with dealing with my problems in life. I had many addictions, of several kinds, to deal with my life issues, but today, at 42, I have my wisdom, my heart and my conscience as the only tools to overcome life’s inevitable obstacles. I have become a good problem solver with those tools and I am damn proud. Thank you for all the love that was given to me for my birthday this year,” Pinkett Smith wrote earlier this month in a post-birthday status.
Pinkett Smith didn’t specify what her addictions were, but she’s no stranger to addictive substances like drugs. In past interviews, Pinkett Smith has been very open about her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, who struggled to raise her as both a single mother and a drug addict.
It’s unclear whether Pinkett Smith battled a drug addiction as well, but she concluded her post by advising her fans to take control of their lives and not let their addictions take control of it.
“What I hope is that we all continue to gain healthy understanding that life is really about, solving problems, and also about us learning to become masters at solving them,” said Pinkett Smith.
Well, we’re glad that Pinkett Smith has overcome all of her old addictions and, hopefully, someone else can learn to overcome theirs through her words. But she certainly isn’t alone. Check out some celebs that battled addictions to the celebrity trappings of sex, drugs and money below. – nicholas robinson
