4:31
- culture
- October 19, 2020
AJ McLean opens up on road to sobriety
McLean has sought professional help on his road to sobriety.
4:31
The singer also said he kept his addiction a secret until his behavior began affecting his band.
\"When the boys kind of caught on, I missed out on rehearsal,\" McLean said. \"They basically broke into my house, and they dumped ice water on me while I was passed out in my bed.\"
\"Everybody started to catch on,\" he added. \"I wasn't me anymore, you know, I was just living a lie.\"
Backstreet Boy @aj_mclean opens up on his battle with addiction and his journey to recovery. @ReeveWill reports. https://t.co/5jq7jG83Tg pic.twitter.com/KmLnkHIPil
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 19, 2020
Eleven months ago, it appeared McLean's addiction was in the forefront of his life after a trip to Las Vegas.
\"I was never sober. Not for a second,\" McLean said. \"And the turning point for me was when I came back home, my wife could smell it on my breath and my youngest of my two daughters would not sit with me.\"
McLean said he's been sober since that day and he's working with a program and a sponsor.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by AJ McLean (@aj_mclean) on Oct 7, 2020 at 1:28pm PDT
\"There's too much to live for today -- my beautiful children, my amazing wife, my career, my brothers,\" McLean said. \"I've never felt more grounded than I do today.\"
ABC News' chief medical contributor Dr. Jennifer Ashton said a person can become addicted to drugs after trying them for the first time.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by AJ McLean (@aj_mclean) on Oct 18, 2020 at 5:53pm PDT
\"In speaking with addiction experts, it absolutely does happen,\" she said, adding that addiction can be associated with a genetic predisposition or could be situational.
\"We've heard those stories as well -- people who have surgery or are in an accident and that's what starts their addiction,\" Ashton noted.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/aj-mclean-file-gty-ml-201019_1603108891451_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
If you're of thinking of holding an intervention for a loved one, Ashton's advice is to \"plan, plan, plan,\" and seek professional help.
Ashton said when a person agrees to go for treatment, they often will need a transporter to accompany them to the facility.
\"This requires daily work,\" Ashton added. \"This is a lifelong battle like any other chronic illness. If you can't see it, sometimes people take it less seriously. I encourage people to look at this no differently than heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure. It's a disease, period.\"
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