Noah Cyrus revealed that she was addicted to Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorder, and that she is still in recovery.
In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone yesterday, July 5, the 22-year-old singer-actress recalled being influenced to use the drug when she was 18 by her then-boyfriend.
“I think I wanted to fit in with him. I wanted to be what he wanted and what he thought was cool and what I thought everybody was doing” Cyrus said. “Once I felt that it was possible to silence things out for a second and numb your pain, it was over. It just kind of becomes this dark pit, bottomless pit.”
Cyrus became more engrossed in her addiction because she was surrounded by people who had easy access to such drugs. Cyrus later experienced side effects such as excessive sleeping and poor memory.
The singer then discussed how her drug use was at its peak in 2020, recalling a time when she lost consciousness in the middle of an interview and being absent-minded when her grandmother died. Cyrus began her road to recovery the same year.
“I felt so guilty for not being there when my grandma died,” she said. “I was there physically, but emotionally, I was not there. I couldn’t be.”
“That was my big eye-opener. I was sitting alone, and I was scared, and I realized that all the people that I love and all the people that I need, I was the one pushing them away,” She continued.
Cyrus discussed how the lyrics of her songs reflected her journey and how writing them helped her heal. The singer then revealed that she is currently undergoing therapy and counseling to “comfort and nurture” herself.
“I’m not trying to be any spokesperson for recovery or anything like that. I, myself, am just going through it and figuring it out,” she was quoted as saying. “[Now], I wake up in the mornings, and I’m able to look in a mirror and go on about my day without hating myself.”
Noah Cyrus is the youngest sister of pop star Miley Cyrus and the daughter of country musician Billy Ray Cyrus. Noah opened up about her struggles growing up in the shadows of her family’s history in 2020, calling it “absolutely unbearable.”