Actor Gerard Butler has opened up about his decision to enter a rehabilitation centre to seek treatment for his addiction to painkillers.
Butler, who is dating Romanian lingerie model Madalina Ghenea, began taking prescription painkillers after sustaining an injury while shooting the movie ‘Shattered’ in 2007.
The actor experienced mild discomfort for the next three years, but his back problems intensified when he filmed ‘Coriolanus’ in 2010.
“It was like somebody sticking a spear in there. It would get bad, and I’d take something. But I would always stop,” Butler told Men’s Journal, reports usmagazine.com.
The Scottish star started taking more painkillers after injuring himself again in December 2011, while shooting for a surfing scene for ‘Chasing Mavericks’.
“I started taking more,” Butler said of the pills. “And I started taking them very quickly.”
Butler feared it could lead to full-blown addiction if he continued, and so he decided to seek treatment.
“I was actually taking a minimal amount when I went in. It was more about becoming a mental warrior and not letting pain bother you. The [instructor] would say, ‘I don't want to hear about your f***ing MRIs or your f***ing X-rays. Let’s go do kung fu, let’s meditate, and let’s learn how to say to the pain, F*** you’,” he said.
Butler stayed in treatment for three weeks.
“They really do rip you apart. But it’s like spring cleaning, you know? You get rid of a bunch of sh*t, realise a bunch more sh*t, and you make a plan,” he added.
