Fans congratulate Lena Dunham on 5 years of sobriety

Lena Dunham he’s open about his past struggles with addiction. The actress and author shared that she first set foot in a rehab center five years ago, “shaking like a little kid.”

Dunham also revealed that she went down the rabbit hole of addiction because she wanted relief and numbness from pain, anxiety and uncertainty.

Now celebrating her milestone, Dunham said the past five years have been the happiest of her life. He also promised to donate to his rehabilitation facility called Friendly House.

Read on to learn more.

Lena Dunham says getting help was the “hardest part” of her addiction.

After half a decade of sobriety, Lena Dunham found out Instagram to reflect on your journey. In a heartfelt post accompanied by a merry-go-round of photos, the “Girls” creator shared, “5 years ago today, shaking like a little kid, I entered substance abuse treatment. My parents hugged me goodbye, I changed into house slippers and there I was.”

Reflecting on her past, Dunham revealed that her battle with addiction was “little by little, then all at once” and that asking for help was the “hardest part.”

The 36-year-old admitted her addiction stemmed from a desire for “ease” – a way to numb her body and restless mind and cope with pain, anxiety and uncertainty. However, he realized that the solution was only temporary and only pulled him further away from the people he loved and the life he wanted.

Lena Dunham talks about her alarm clock before checking into rehab

In 2020, Dunham opened up about her troubling experience with anti-anxiety medication. He revealed that his relationship with the drug turned dark when he was hiding under the covers, feeling completely numb and sad.

In an interview Cosmopolitan UK, shared, per Page six, “I was lying in a bed in my parents’ apartment, under two covers, in the same pajamas I’d been in for three days, and I thought, ‘This isn’t me.’ It wasn’t that I was suicidal. I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t want to live.”

The moment was a wake-up call for her, and Dunham decided to take control of her mental health and enter a 28-day rehab program to kick her addiction to prescription pills. She received the prescription pills after a hysterectomy for endometriosis.

Lena Dunham credits her sobriety to her medical and spiritual resources

Dunham reflected on the sobriety milestone, saying the past five years have been “the happiest I’ve been on earth so far.”

“They were full of work, love, complexity and, yes, pain,” she said, adding that “facing it all without medicating yourself in a harmful way” gave her a “strong starting point” and “new tools.”

He added: “Five years ago, all this was unthinkable. Five days was impossible to imagine. Five minutes sometimes seemed difficult.”

However, Dunham attributed her sobriety to having access to medical and spiritual resources that supported her recovery. He acknowledged, “For many people, the difference between being sober and using is not their willingness or their strength, but their resources.”

Dunham said, “We don’t have a system that makes it easier for people who are struggling to make their lives work.”

He promised to donate to the Rehab Facility – Friendly House

In honor of her anniversary sober, Dunham shared her plans to bring back donations Friendly HouseRehabilitation institution founded in 1951. Explaining her decision, Dunham shared that Friendly was the first program to support women and gender non-conforming individuals struggling with addiction without turning them away for financial reasons.

He emphasized his commitment to helping those suffering from addiction and trauma by offering the donation amount, writing: “Every cent you give will go towards helping those struggling with addiction and trauma.”

Dunham thanked those who helped her on her journey to sobriety, stating, “Every day is a lesson that I’m fortunate to learn and don’t take for granted. For that I am especially grateful today.”

Fans congratulated the star for being open and honest about her journey and the incredible 5-year milestone. One of them commented: “Congratulations! And a heartfelt thank you for your awareness and action on the inequities in our health care system. Complementary medicine. We need more people like you.”

Stars like Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Silverman and Selma Blair were proud of Dunham’s strength and progress.