Tom Holland talks about his 'alcohol problem' and hard-won sobriety

Los Angeles, July 11 (IANS) Actor Tom Holland has now begun speaking more and more openly of his alcohol addiction and his hard-won sobriety.The 'Spider-Man' star, reports 'People',spoke about his decision to give up drinking on Monday's episode of the 'On Purpose with Jay Shetty' podcast, calling it "the best thing I've ever done".

Holland shared that his sober journey began with a bit too much indulging during the holiday season last year. He said: "I didn't one day wake up and say, 'I'm giving up drinking'."

Unspooling his story, Holland added: "I, just like many Brits, had a very, very boozy December. (It was) Christmas time, I was on vacation, I was drinking a lot, and I've always been able to drink a lot.

"I think I get my genes from my mom's side in that thing -- I can drink. And I decided to just give (it) up for January."

Adding that booze was all he could think about and that his intense cravings were now concerning him, Holland said: "It just really scared me. I just was like, 'Wow, maybe. Maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing'.

"So I sort of decided to punish myself and say, 'I'll do February as well. I'll do two months off. If I can do two months off, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem'."

Pressing on with his alcohol pause, he said he increasingly felt the pressure of England's drinking-focused culture. "Two months go by and I was still really struggling. I felt like I couldn't be social," he said.

"I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda," Holland said. "I could not go out for dinner. I was really, really struggling and I started to really worry that maybe I had an alcohol problem."

As he neared his birthday last month he began to turn over a new leaf. Looking back, he said, "I said to myself, 'If I can do six months without alcohol, then I can prove to myself that I don't have a problem.' And by the time I got to June 1, I was the happiest I've ever been in my life."

Holland went on to add that after getting rid of his alcoholism he had "such better mental clarity." He said: "I felt healthier, I felt fitter and I just sort of said to myself, why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed with the idea of having this drink?"

--IANS

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