Pooja Bhatt on being sober for four years: ‘What an enriching, searing journey it has been’ | Bollywood - Hindustan Times
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Pooja Bhatt on being sober for four years: ‘What an enriching, searing journey it has been’

Dec 23, 2020 01:44 PM IST

Pooja Bhatt shared a heartfelt post and message as she completed four years of having quit alcohol. The actor revealed how her life is better for it.

Actor Pooja Bhatt has shared a serene picture to explain how her life has changed for the better ever since she quit alcohol four years ago. She also wrote a heartfelt note alongside the image of morning sky.

Pooja Bhatt completed four years of having quit alcohol.
Pooja Bhatt completed four years of having quit alcohol.

Pooja posted the image and wrote, “Four years sober today!Earlier it was pink champagne,malt & packed,city bars. Now it is pink skies & deserted,country roads.What an enriching,searing journey it has been.Gratitude to life & the divine force that has watched over me,kept me true,vulnerable,strong. #sobrietyrocks.”

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Pooja has often talked about battling alcoholism. She first opened up about her journey in a Mumbai Mirror interview in 2017, months after having decided to quit. “I want to bust the stigma attached to alcoholism in our country. Women particularly are discouraged from seeking help because it’s a matter of shame for the family. We don’t share our pain or frailties, we cover our weaknesses and it becomes a cancer,” she told the tabloid. The actor also told the daily that it was one message from her filmmaker father Mahesh Bhatt that made her think about it.

Earlier this year, she wrote an elaborate post on Instagram, sharing her thoughts. “Three yrs & nine months sober today. One more quarter and I will be four. As someone who drank openly,I chose to recover openly.I truly felt it was important to share my journey to tell others,women especially, who might be struggling that they are not alone & if I could do it so could they. Was ridiculed by some but lauded for being courageous by most”.

 

She also talked about the need to open up about her recovery from alcoholism. “I wondered why people termed speaking openly about addiction issues courageous. And also why there is an ‘anonymous’ attached to groups that help you recover. I understand more than ever today that it’s because people simplify/stigmatise addictive behaviour & tend to criminalise it without attempting to understand why someone used a substance to begin with. Alcohol is a drug,and was my drug of choice.Just because it is socially acceptable does not mean it is not. I have had to make more excuses for NOT drinking in the last few yrs than I ever have for drinking-to friends,foes and ‘well’ meaning acquaintances alike. A fractured society can only heal & evolve when we attempt to ‘understand’ instead of constantly standing in judgement. When we empathise instead of vilify. Until then and even beyond, I will continue to speak from a place of compassion & truth,in the hope that there is ONE person out there I could goad to start on their own journey of sobriety and stay on their path. So help me God! #sobrietyrocks #eachonereachone #eachonehealone #onedayatatime #onestepatatime #youarenotalone”.

Also read: Bigg Boss 14: Sonali Phogat talks about ‘mental torture’ after husband’s death, says she will stay ‘within the limits of decency’ on the show

 

Pooja was recently seen in Mahesh Bhatt’s Sadak 2. The film, a sequel to Pooja’s 1990 film, marked the return of her father Mahesh to direction after 20 years. The new film starred Sanjay Dutt, who reprised his role from the original while Pooja’s sister Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur played the lead roles.

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