You Have to Be Careful What You Wish For, Says Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry ‘never realized’ there was a dark side to fame. The 53-year-old actor became a family man when he starred in the NBC sitcom “Friends” alongside Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer in 1994, but in later years, he battled addiction and admitted that he ended up using alcohol as a mechanism for ‘hope,’ even after ‘working hard’ to achieve his dreams.

Perry Highlighted His Experiences: ‘I was never afraid to be different in terms of how I dressed or the music I played. I listened to what I did with my free time, because there is something great about that, as a child, and it is free choice. I think when it’s familiar, then there’s a different perception. It’s unintentional, and perhaps the label of blended families back then was very different from what it is now and the acceptance of the subject. For some reason, it felt different back then.

Addiction Can Be Exhausting. Matthew went on to describe addiction as ‘exhausting’ but noted that finding God and embracing religion was the reason he was able to achieve sobriety. He says, ‘When you’re a drug addict, it’s all math. I go to this place and I need to take three. And then I go to this place and I’m going to take five because I’m going to be there longer. It’s exhausting, but you have to do it, or you’ll get very, very sick. I wasn’t doing it to feel high or to feel good. He certainly wasn’t a partier; I just wanted to sit on my couch, take five Vicodins, and watch a movie. That was heaven for me.’

Finding The Right Path to Sobriety. For Matthew Perry, God showed him the right path to sobriety. For someone who had deceived and deluded himself for so many decades, the truth became, and always will be, the most amazing gift you can give not only to other people but also to yourself.

There are lessons to be learned from Matthew Perry’s story. We should learn to be careful what we wish for and be aware of the dark side of fame. Addiction is a serious issue, and it’s important to find the right path to sobriety. Some people may find it helpful to embrace religion, others may find help in therapy, and still others may benefit from a support group. The important thing is to find what works for you and stick to it.