Brad Pitt’s drinking was a problem
Brad Pitt’s drinking became a "problem" last year.
The 53-year-old actor – who split from wife Angelina Jolie last September – admits he has always used substances such as alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana to avoid facing his feelings but he’s thankful he’s now faced his issues head on.
He said: "I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something. Something. And you realize that a lot of it is, um –cigarettes, you know, pacifiers. And I’m running from feelings.
"I’m really, really happy to be done with all of that. I mean I stopped everything except boozing when I started my family. But even this last year, you know — things I wasn’t dealing with.
"I was boozing too much. It’s just become a problem.
"And I’m really happy it’s been half a year now, which is bittersweet, but I’ve got my feelings in my fingertips again. I think that’s part of the human challenge: You either deny them all of your life or you answer them and evolve."
But the ‘Fury’ actor admitted he found it harder to give up alcohol than marijuana.
He told the upcoming new issue of GQ Style magazine: "I mean, we have a winery. I enjoy wine very, very much, but I just ran it to the ground. I had to step away for a minute. And truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.
"[I] didn’t want to live that way anymore."
Since the breakdown of his marriage, Brad – who has children Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10, and eight-year-old twins Knox and vivienne with Angelina – has been seeing a therapist and "loves" the sessions.
He admitted: "You know, I just started therapy. I love it. I love it. I went through two therapists to get the right one."
And the ‘Tree of Life’ star is learning to recognize his own "weaknesses and failures" and take responsibility for his actions.
He said: " For me this period has really been about looking at my weaknesses and failures and owning my side of the street.
"I’m an asshole when it comes to this need for justice. I don’t know where it comes from, this hollow quest for justice for some perceived slight. I can drill on that for days and years. It’s done me no good whatsoever.
"It’s such a silly idea, the idea that the world is fair. And this is coming from a guy who hit the lottery, I’m well aware of that. I hit the lottery, and I still would waste my time on those hollow pursuits."
While Brad is learning to confront the parts of himself he doesn’t like, he believes he is slowly reaching an "epiphany" and joy in his life.
He added: "Sitting with those horrible feelings, and needing to understand them, and putting them into place. In the end, you find: I am those things I don’t like.
"That is a part of me. I can’t deny that. I have to accept that. And in fact, I have to embrace that. I need to face that and take care of that. Because by denying it, I deny myself. I am those mistakes.
"For me every misstep has been a step toward epiphany, understanding, some kind of joy.
"Yeah, the avoidance of pain is a real mistake. It’s the real missing out on life. It’s those very things that shape us, those very things that offer growth, that make the world a better place, oddly enough, ironically.
"That make us better."
