Lena Dunham opens up about prescription drug addiction

By MiNDFOOD

Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala - Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between - Arrivals - New York City, U.S. - 01/05/17 - Lena Dunham.  REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - HP1ED511TKAHW
Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala - Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between - Arrivals - New York City, U.S. - 01/05/17 - Lena Dunham. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - HP1ED511TKAHW
Lena Dunham has opened up about her addiction to prescription drugs that led to her checking into a rehab programme.

In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, the Girls creator said her dependence on anxiety medication benzodiazepine became “really complicated”.

“I realised I wasn’t just taking medication for physical pain, I was taking medication for the emotional pain too. And then suddenly, especially this stuff, the benzos, it changes your brain chemistry and suddenly you’re not yourself. You’re not present. You’re not functional,” she said.

“One day, I looked around and I was lying in a bed in my parents’ apartment under two blankets, in the same pyjamas I’d been in for three days, and I was like, ‘This isn’t me.’ It wasn’t that I was suicidal. I felt nothing. I didn’t want to live.”

Dunham spent 28 days in a rehabilitation programme for her prescription drug addiction while she was recovering from a hysterectomy, which she had to relieve the symptoms of endometriosis.

She has also suffered from a chronic condition causing pain and fatigue called fibromyalgia, as well as connective-tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which sometimes sees her need a walking stick.

Her time in rehab came shortly after her five-and-a-half-year relationship with singer and record producer Jack Antonoff had broken down. With the pair starting their relationship at age 25, Dunham attributes their young age to their split.

“I look back and we had a great ride, we cared for each other, but you know what? We were both starting our careers and that was our true passion,” she said.

“The love you have for someone doesn’t disappear because you don’t have them; it’s just logistically it doesn’t work any more. I love him so much. He is a dear, dear friend of mine.”

 

Anyone who may be feeling distressed can contact the following organisations for support

New Zealand:

Lifeline 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)

Depression Helpline 0800 111 757 or text 4202

Youthline 0800 376 633

Australia:

SANE Helpline 1800 18 72 63

Lifeline 131 114

Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

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