Noah Cyrus Opens Up About Her Xanax Addiction And Her Road To Recovery

Artist Noah Cyrus is speaking up about her Xanax addiction and subsequent recovery, which began in 2020 and has since influenced her music.

The singer, who comes from a musical family, revealed numerous details of that dark era, which saw her slide deeper and deeper into an abyss of substance misuse and strain her ties with her family members.

She stated that her partner at the time exposed her to drugs and that it took multiple wake-up calls for her to get her life back on track and completely focus on her music. The Grammy nominee, who is set to go on tour in August, also has a new album on the horizon, dubbed "The Hardest Part," a testament to her recovery process from substance abuse and the breakdown of her previous relationship.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, the former child actress revealed that she started taking Xanax at 18 and was introduced to the drug by her then-boyfriend, whose identity she did not disclose.

"My boyfriend at the time, when I was 18, was the first person that gave me a Xanax, and it became a way for us to bond," she recounted. "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. Once I felt that it was possible to silence things out for a second and numb your pain, it was over."

Although Cyrus did not say who she was seeing at the time of her addiction, it was well known that in 2018, she began dating rapper Lil Xan. While it's unclear if that's the connection she was referring to, she acknowledged that her partner introduced her to that life four years ago, around the same time she saw the rapper.

On several occasions, Cyrus has been open about her battle with depression and anxiety. Using Xanax to numb the voices in her head consistently took her down a devastating path with many consequences. Her predicament was made more difficult as she had easy access to the substance due to her circle of friends.

The singer described days when she'd slumber for hours and wake up deep into the night, adding that she struck rock bottom after falling asleep in the middle of a news conference.

"I was completely nodding off and falling asleep and unable to keep my head up or keep my eyes open, because I was so far gone," she said. "It just kind of becomes this dark pit, bottomless pit."

Loosely known also as Alprazolam, Xanax is a fast-acting tranquilizer that is most typically used to treat anxiety disorders, especially panic disorder or generalized anxiety disorder. However, when taken without medical supervision, as Cyrus did, it has the potential to become an addiction with serious implications for the user.

Seeing herself spiral into an unrecognizable state made Cyrus start getting conscious of the need to snap out of her addiction. However, she needed another "eye-opener" to push her over the edge and help begin her road to recovery.

The singer revealed that this moment came in August 2020 after the death of her grandmother Loretta. She noted that the guilt of "not being there" emotionally for family members, including her mother, Tish gripped her for a long time.

"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 told RS in another interview.

It took the "Stay Together" singer some time to get back on her own feet. Eventually, she began her path to rehabilitation, with music playing a big role in her recovery as she poured her emotions into lyrics for her new projects.

Six months after getting assistance, Cyrus began work on her first album, "The Hardest Part," which she plans to debut on September 16.

"I'm not trying to be, like, any spokesperson for recovery or anything like that. I, myself, am just going through it and figuring it out," she said. "I wake up in the mornings, and I'm able to look in a mirror and go on about my day without hating myself. "I'm able to comfort myself and nurture myself."

In April, she released the song "I Burned LA Down" to promote her next album, inspired by her previous turbulent relationship and the highs and lows she experienced at that time.

The song was backed by an "apocalyptic" music video in which Cyrus stands like a statuesque while flames encircle her. "Noah (Stand Still)," "Ready to Go," "Mr. Percocet," "Every Beginning Ends," "I Just Want a Lover," and "Unfinished" are among the other tracks on the album.