“I’ve struggled with addiction for a long part of my life and I went to rehab at one point, came out, and it was the greatest thing I ever did in my life.”
While promoting the History Channel series Vikings at Comic-Con 2018, Canadian actor Alexander Ludwig addressed his recovery in a candid interview.
Ludwig, who opened up about his struggle with addiction in a new awareness campaign, shared with ET Canada that he’s learned a lot while working through is recovery.
“I’ve struggled with addiction for a long part of my life and I went to rehab at one point, came out, and it was the greatest thing I ever did in my life,” he said. “One thing that comes with addiction is realizing that it really doesn’t just start with you. Even though I’m fighting it, my whole family, my loved ones, are living with it too.”
Ludwig’s story is featured on the Instagram account @BiteTheBulletStories, a collection of stories of hardship, determination, and survival.
Ludwig chose to share his experience with addiction. “With the help of family, friends and my love [girlfriend Kristy Dawn Dinsmore] I was able to see I had an addiction,” Ludwig said in the Instagram post. “I chose to fight it and I went to rehab. I bite the bullet for the addict who still suffers, I bite the bullet for the loved ones who try to help to no avail.”
Ludwig’s girlfriend, actress Kristy Dawn Dinsmore, was there with him through it all, he said.
Dinsmore also had a story to tell, about seeing her mother sick for three years before she passed away when she was 9 years old. Dinsmore said at the time she was at a crossroads, but the selfless love of her surrounding community compelled her to go down a “path of gratitude instead of the seductive path of self-loathing.”
She said in her Instagram post, ”I could have succumbed to being a victim, or I could choose to accept that some things are out of my control. When I finally accepted the things I couldn’t change, I was able to take the appropriate steps towards changing what I could.”
“With [Alexander’s] struggle with addiction I’ve undergone some of the toughest times since my mother died and I’ve had to be as resilient as ever to help him through this. Our willingness to be vulnerable and open gives birth to a space within where we ultimately grow,” said Dinsmore, who has appeared on Supernatural and recently the TV series Loudermilk.
Ludwig said that by sharing with Dinsmore, he wants to let people know that they’re not alone and it’s important to talk about what’s within.
“A lot of people live in toxic shame,” he said. “There’s no shame in getting help for things that you need.”
