Russell Brand opens up about his battle with addiction in his new book Recovery

Russell BrandGETTY

It is really hard not to like someone who is as open about their vulnerabilities as Russell Brand

It is really hard not to like someone who is as open about their vulnerabilities as Russell Brand.

At a recent talk to launch his latest book, within minutes the comedian and actor was sharing moving tales of his battle with addiction and low self esteem.

Yes, underneath all that bluff, the tight-trousered motormouth admits he still faces a daily battle with his demons.

Now, 14 years after getting clean from drugs and booze, and having also overcome sex addiction – he was famously given an award for his prolific sex life – Russell has written Recovery in a bid to help others beat addiction.

He was once hooked on heroin, crack, alcohol, sex, and pornography. He was addicted to chocolate as a child and has suffered bulimia.

Recovery is a beautifully written book with a message about the human condition that will strike a chord with many, if not all, of us.

It works as an “interpretation” of the 12-step programme used by Alcoholics Anonymous.

“It don’t feel very easy for me to be alive. It continues to not be very easy to me,” Russell revealed to the crowd at the talk.

“The compliments that have been said, it’s already not helping. It’s good for a little second. I got some sort of inner narcotic. What sticks to me is ‘You’re worthless, you’re nobody, you’re scum’. I don’t know why those things have such tenacity in me. If you tell me I’m scum, the first thing I’m going to do is go, ‘Yes, I know’. That’s what I feel immediately.

Russell Brand GETTY

Russell Brand has been clean from drugs and booze for 14 years

“This is who I’m talking to: the miscreants, the malcontents, the shameful and the broken, who on any given day can be Jesus and a leper. Because for me, to a degree, that’s where I will always live, but I’m aspiring to be better.”

Moving stuff! Now, it’s fair to say that Russell has caused quite a lot of people to get their knickers in a twist in recent years – and I’m not talking about that award again.

He has been pilloried for errors of judgment, including prank phone calls to much-loved Fawlty Towers star Andrew Sachs.

He caused uproar when he told people not to vote in the 2015 election, then backed Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Make of this what you will, but it is hard to refute Russell’s contribution to opening up the dialogue about addiction and mental health, particularly amongst men.

His first book, My Booky Wook, laid bare his troubled early years with heartbreaking honesty.

Russell’s father left when he was three months old, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer when he was eight.

Russell Brand and Katy PerryGETTY

Russell Brand was briefly married to singer Katy Perry

Russell was bulimic at 12, and began drinking heavily and taking drugs by 16.

In 2003 he was told that he would be in prison, a mental hospital, or dead within six months unless he went into rehab.

Russell tells me Recovery is aimed at people with addictions of all kinds, such as bad relationships, sugar and work, and not just hardcore substances like drugs and alcohol.

“I hope that it will help people who have got addiction issues. I think that’s probably all of us. I think that we’re all doing things to make ourselves feel better that are detrimental to us or those around us. I want to help people to change their lives,” says Russell, 42, who is much more quietly spoken and charming than his manic on-stage persona.

“Most people, if you said to them, ‘Are you happy?’, my guess is most people would say some version of ‘No’.”

He calls the book a “self help programme” with readers working through in steps to uncover and tackle issues.

Readers are also encouraged to seek help from support groups.

“People are trying to solve their problems externally when they can only really be solved internally,” says Russell, a long-time opponent of consumerism.

“We live with a system that is mis-directing us toward purchase, that is mis-directing us towards individualism, that is miss-directing us towards blame. As long as we are living according to bogus systems happiness is impossible.”

Russell Brand GETTY

Russell is husband to Laura Gallacher and father to 10-month-old daughter Mabel

Explaining how the book works, Russell says: “Firstly, admit you’re not happy, secondly, admit that it’s possible to be happy and, thirdly, admit that you will need help and change in order to be happy. A lot of people are afraid of change and a lot of people are afraid of asking for help. So those are the first three steps. I think those are applicable in any circumstance, whether you’re dealing with grief, mental illness, being in relationships that you don’t enjoy or you’re not enjoying your job.”

Russell tells me the “programme”, has turned his life around.

He reveals in the book how it has made him a better partner to wife Laura Gallacher and father to 10-month-old daughter Mabel.

He writes: “It is much more spectacular and surprising that I became capable of being a good boyfriend than it is that I escaped a denizen of creepy-crawly crack dens to become a famous comedian.”

Russell tells me: “Life always happens, doesn’t it. There are always events. When I’m connected to this programme those events become manageable. When I disconnect from it life becomes challenging. When things get challenging, when I’m distressed, it’s an indication that I need to return to my programme, need to admit there’s a problem, I need to believe it’s possible to do things differently, to ask for help.

“For me, I see pain differently, I’ve changed my perspective. I don’t feel pain and then wallow into it, or try to make it better by eating a cake or looking at pornography, I think ‘Oh, I’m in pain. Right that means I need help’. I just look at stuff differently now.”

Russell, briefly married to singer Katy Perry, adds: “I’m not targeting them but do want to reach young men. I want to reach anybody who wants help. I speak a lot to Calm [Campaign Against Living Miserably] and they say 75 per cent of suicides are male and that mental health among men is in crisis.”

The book is full of anecdotes about Russell’s journey, including that foray into politics – his “altercation with The Establishment”.

“I became seduced by ego and power, “ he admits, although he still stands by his previous pronouncements. Recovery is a hope-filled road map to being human in the 21st century.

His politics might not be to everyone’s taste, but navigating the complexities of addiction – or “being ****ed up” as he prefers to call it – is something Russell Brand knows rather a lot about. 

● Recovery (Bluebird, £20), is out now.