Apr 23, 2018 | By Tim Stoddart

The Real Slim Shady Just Celebrated 10 Years Sober

Addiction & Recovery News Recovery

Eminem, who’s formal name is Marshall Matthers, has celebrated ten years of continuous sobriety and recently posted on social media to give an inspiring message and show off his medallion.

Between his headlining sets at Coachella, the 45-year-old-rapper took to Instagram, posting a picture of a ten year medallion he received for his decade of recovery.

“Celebrated my 10 years yesterday,” he wrote alongside the image, in which he held the coin up to the camera. The middle of the token features an “X,” the Roman numeral for 10, surrounded by the words “Unity,” “Service” and “Recovery.”

“They Said I Was About Two Hours From Dying.”

In 2007, Eminem suffered from an accidental overdose after his addiction reached new heights and he fell to the grips of addiction. During the peak of his drug use, he revealed that he was taking up to 60 Valium and 30 Vicodin pills a day. Starting with Vicodin, Valium and Ambien, he moved on to methadone by the end of his substance abuse, ultimately overdosing on the drug.

“The doctors told me I’d done the equivalent of four bags of heroin,” he said in 2011, talking about his 2007 methadone overdose. “They said I was about two hours from dying.”

“I used to get pills wherever I could,” he told the New York Times in 2011. “I was just taking anything that anybody was giving to me.”

In the 2012 documentary, How To Make Money Selling Drugs, the rapper spoke in depth about his addiction that nearly killed him.  “When I took my first Vicodin, it was like this feeling of ‘Ahh.’ Like everything was not only mellow, but I didn’t feel any pain,” he says. “I don’t know at what point exactly it started to be a problem. I just remember liking it more and more.”

Dealing With The Problem

After his near-death experience, Eminem decided to seek out help at a treatment center in Michigan, but relapsed within a month of getting out of the hospital.

“I felt like I was Bugs Bunny in rehab,” he said. “When Bugs Bunny walks into rehab, people are going to turn and look. People at rehab were stealing my hats and pens and notebooks and asking for autographs. I couldn’t concentrate on my problem.”

After his first stint at rehab, the “Lose Yourself,” rapper decided to go about sobriety an alternate way. He detoxed in a hospital and returned home, seeking out a counselor and diving into therapy.

Along with his children, biological daughter Hailie, and two adopted daughters, Lainey and Whitney, Eminem additionally credits exercise to his long-term sobriety.

“Your Sobriety Is In My Diary”

“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober. I was close to 230 pounds. I’m not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas. The coating on the Vicodin and Valium I’d been taking for years leaves a hold in your stomach, so to avoid a stomachache, I was constantly eating – and eating badly,” the rapper told Men’s Journal in 2015. “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect.” He continued, “It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that’s good for them.

With his sober pals taking to social media to give the rapper accolades, prominent friends like Rapper Royce Da 5’9″ congratulated the 45-year-old. “Happy sobriety birthday to my mentor @Eminem. Keep fighting the good fight homie…. I love you for life.”

With more than 1.7 million likes and 32,000 comments on his Instagram post, the rapper additionally credits his fans and fellow sober mentor – Elton John.

“Your sobriety day is in my diary,” Sir Elton John once said. “I’m so proud of you.”