The internet is abuzz with the news that actor Brad Pitt revealed in a far-ranging interview that, “I got—I was sober for seven years. And then I got back off the wagon.” Asked about this choice, he elaborated that he drinks in a “more restrained manner. I got overconfident a couple times, went, Yep, nope, not good for me. Not in big quantities.” He further states, “I can have a few. But I can’t have a lot. I have to be professional about it.”
Pitt has been very public about his sobriety over the years. He has discussed how his divorce from Angelina Jolie prompted him to go to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings. While it was not an instant fit for him, he did find support in the AA fellowship. He publicly thanked actor Bradley Cooper at the 2020 National Board of Review Annual Awards Gala, saying, “I got sober because of this guy and every day has been happier ever since.”
Is abstinence necessary?
Why does it matter that Brad Pitt has chosen to no longer abstain from alcohol? For many in AA who believe that abstinence is the only way a person can truly be sober, Pitt’s decision seems like a mistake or a loss. His decision to drink again would be considered a relapse. As many often say of someone who has begun to drink or use again, “He’s gone back out.”
Since Pitt was so public about attending AA and acknowledging how important it was in his recovery, some worry that it will be taken as proof that AA doesn’t work. Some will always bristle when others speak publicly about their membership in AA, considering it a breach of anonymity. Because Pitt is such a public figure, his experiences are more heavily monitored and interpreted. That’s a heavy burden to put on any one individual. His experiences should not carry any more weight than anyone else’s. Nor should he be taken as a representative for AA.
Pitt’s decision also raises the question of whether abstinence is a requirement for recovery. Harm reduction approaches do not accept the premise that abstinence is necessary. Any reduction in harmful consequences of use is an improvement that may allow people to live better or even to flourish. When those negative consequences are mitigated or eliminated, a person can rightfully say that they are in recovery. Pitt’s acknowledgment of the bad consequences of his recent overindulgence fits more of a harm reduction framework.
Can you walk back a substance use disorder?
What about the American Psychiatric Association’s definition of substance use disorder (SUD)? The diagnosis comprises 11 criteria that are met over the course of 12 months. A person who meets two to three criteria has a mild SUD, meeting four to five criteria is a moderate SUD, while meeting six or more criteria is a severe SUD. That leaves open the possibility that someone who met two or more of the criteria but no longer does may be able to consume their drug of choice and no longer have a SUD. If there is no SUD, there is no relapse. Perhaps this is how Pitt views the regression of drinking and using patterns. He had a problem, and he walked it back.
We humans are always changing; those of us in recovery (however each of us defines it) can point to so many ways that we have changed for the better. What we need in recovery may change as well. Someone who has tried to moderate their use may decide to become abstinent. Others may turn to medication-assisted therapies instead of trying to quit “cold turkey.” Others may decide that abstinence is not a good or right choice for them now.
What does Pitt’s drinking mean for other people in recovery?
No doubt many people with the best of intentions do not want to see Pitt suffer the terrible consequences that often follow from an addiction. It is possible that those consequences will follow after drinking again. It is also possible they will not follow.
Other people who are less charitable may be waiting to see him fail or return to his worst using days. They may mistakenly take this as proof that their approach to sobriety and recovery is the only good/true/right one. That’s an unjustified conclusion.
I have written elsewhere about “sobersplainers.” People who sobersplain tend to act as authorities on what others need to do to be in recovery. They are not just experts on their own recovery, but they act as experts on everyone else’s recovery. There is a lot of sobersplaining happening right now from what I am seeing on various social media.
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This is Brad Pitt’s decision to make and live with. It is not my place to judge him but only to wish him well.
