Demi Moore on addiction: 'I had absolutely no value for myself'

Demi Moore is opening up about her struggles with addiction and substance abuse.

The 55-year-old actress was recently named Woman of the Year by the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House at the recovery centre’s 29th Annual Awards Luncheon in Beverly Hills.

Moore accepted the award and gave a moving speech where she opened up about her personal struggles. The actress went to rehab at the peak of her “Brat Pack” fame in the mid-1980s for drugs and alcohol. In 2012 she was hospitalized for inhaling nitrous oxide, also known as whippits. The “Charlie’s Angels” star later checked herself into rehab for drug addiction and an eating disorder.

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“I feel like there are defining moments in our lives that shape who we are and the direction we go, and early in my career, I was spiralling down a path of real self-destruction, and no matter what successes I had, I just never felt good enough,” Moore told the audience.

“I had absolutely no value for myself,” the star continued. “And this self-destructive path, it very quickly … brought me to a real crisis point. And it wasn’t clear at the time the reason — maybe it was divine intervention — but two people who I barely knew stepped up and took a stand for me, and they presented me with an opportunity.”

The actress continued, “In fact, it was more like an ultimatum … unless I was dead, that I better show up. They gave me a chance to redirect the course of my life before I destroyed everything. Clearly, they saw more of me than I saw of myself. And I’m so grateful because without that opportunity, without their belief in me, I wouldn’t be standing here today.”

Moore said she is “grateful” for the support of her three children, 30-year-old Rumer, 27-year-old Scout and 24-year-old Tallulah, whom she shares with her ex-husband Bruce Willis.

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“I know in a moment of great struggle for me, I reached out to a wise teacher and expressed my fear that I wasn’t good enough,” Moore said. “And she said, ‘You will never be good enough but you can know the value of your worth. Put down the measuring stick.’ So today, I put down the measuring stick and I thank you for this beautiful acknowledgment and the opportunity to know the value of my worth.”

Moore took to Instagram to thank her family and friends for their support as she accepted the award. Of her daughters she writes, “Seeing your beautiful smiling faces- you are what makes my heart worth beating. Everything I do is for you!”

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