Ben Affleck revealed 1 powerful reason to share your sobriety story

One of the most rewarding things about writing about my own sobriety journey is hearing from all the people going through the same thing.

I love reading about their stories and their experiences because so many of them mirror my own.

I love to get inspired by their triumphs or their redoubled efforts after stumbling.

I don’t exactly know why I wound up writing so much on this site about quitting drinking myself.

Thinking about it now, there were probably a bunch of reasons that all converged.

I started writing again at a simultaneously low and high point.

I was low because I was exiting another summer having drunk way too much and wasted so many beautiful days and opportunities. I was angry with myself.

It was a high point because I felt, in that August heat, that something had finally changed for good.

I was so sick of my own sad reflection that I knew I’d had enough.

I reassessed my life and skills, finally accepted that my destiny was to be a writer, and logged back in here.

But what to write about?

The sobriety journey takes over

Well, they say to write what you know, and at that moment, all I knew was I wanted to quit drinking.

It was top of mind for me because I knew everything else in my life hinged on it.

I did post about a lot of random different stuff early on, too, but something interesting started happening.

People were drawn to the quit drinking work far more than anything else.

It wasn’t just that they were reading it more than my other stuff — I started getting all these amazing comments.

People were sharing their tips and advice, their triumphs and tribulations.

They were telling me that my work was inspiring them and thanking me for being open and honest about a problem so many of us have.

The latter example was particularly humbling.

I’m just a normal guy going through something and writing about it … it makes me so happy that I’m somehow helping others in the process.

Sharing my sobriety journey has been powerful in another way too: It inspires me to try and be a better person and not backslide into my old ways.

If people are drawing inspiration from me the same way I am from others here, that’s a powerful incentive to stay on track.

I don’t want to let anybody down.

So if people find my stories inspiring, imagine the impact when someone far more successful than me speaks up and takes the risk of discussing their own sobriety.

What got me thinking about all this was an incredible interview I read last week with actor/director/Hollywood royalty Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The poster boy

Affleck, of course, is one of the most famously sober people there is.

Affleck has been an inadvertent, main contributor to the pop culture zeitgeist since I was a teenager (and I’m 41 years old).

Throughout his journey from the Boy Wonder who brought Good Will Hunting to the world to a Hollywood big shot, the tabloids have followed his ups and downs with a particular tenacity.

Unfortunately, a lot of those downs involved alcohol.

Now sober and married to his early tabloid co-star, Jennifer Lopez, Affleck seems to be in a really great place.

You can tell in the interview that Affleck is a very restless creative like a lot of people writing about sobriety on this site.

His brain is just crackling as he jumps from topic to topic.

One quote that jumped out at me was when he was discussing his own battle with alcoholism and how his private battle became public.

Here’s what he told The Hollywood Reporter:

“I became — out of no desire of my own — one of the poster boys for actor alcoholism and recovery and the whole thing.

“And the best part about that is that sometimes people call me up and they’re like, “Hey, can you help me out?” And it makes me feel so good to do that.”

“The big trick of 12-step is the reason they want you to help other people is because it actually helps you more.”

Not that Affleck’s ever been entirely comfortable with the whole thing.

He continued:

“And often what I’ll say to people is, I would avoid [your addiction] coming out if I were you.

“You don’t need to be anybody’s poster child. You don’t need to fucking tell anybody.

“That’s why there’s two words on the front of the book. They’re just as important, both of them: Alcoholics Anonymous. It’s always anonymous.”

This is a personal choice for everyone (well, except celebrities who get harassed by the paparazzi I guess).

For people like myself who walk a different path than those in AA, there is comfort and power in owning your shortcomings and working through the process in the open.

You can help other people in public, too, and you can learn so much from them along the way.

Certainly, if you’re not comfortable sharing your own journey, you shouldn’t. For some people, this is a very private matter.

It seems Affleck would have preferred that route, though in discussing it, he revealed one of the most powerful aspects of his struggles getting out.

When people hear that there are many others in the same boat, it makes them feel less isolated and more inspired.

If you do feel like it would help your own healing, I think there’s a lot of power in sharing your journey.

You never know who else’s life you might be saving.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this post all the way to the end! If you enjoyed it, please give it a clap or two so others can find it!

Is this your last free Medium article? Subscribe today using my link ($5 a month, cancel any time) — I’ll get a lil’ kickback, and you’ll get all the awesome content Medium has to offer, risk-free!

My most-read stories

The latest from me

Get an email every time I publish so you don’t miss a story!