Spiderman actor, Tom Holland has opened up about his sobriety from alcohol. Holland was interviewed on the Jay Shetty podcast released on July 10, where he opened up about many mental health struggles he had overcome. Most poignantly, Tom Holland spoke about his relationship with alcohol.
Tom Holland began discussing how he recognised he had an alcohol problem. Holland had embarked on a ‘Dry January’ challenge, where he would be sober for the month of January in 2022. This challenge proved more difficult than Holland had expected. After giving up alcohol, he felt constantly drawn to the idea of drinking, saying “All I could think about was having a drink. [...] I was waking up thinking about it.[...] And it really scared me.”
After recognising he had a problem, he decided to try and extend the challenge of sobriety into the month of February. The second month of his sobriety was still very challenging. As he shared, “I was still really struggling. I felt like I couldn’t be social.”
After the second month proved as challenging, Holland noticed that this problem and tie to alcohol was more severe than he originally thought.
Holland then challenged himself to wait until his birthday to drink again, on June 1st. This would extend the challenge to six months. Holland succeeded in the challenge, and by the sixth month of sobriety, Holland had realised he had become “the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.” As Holland could now “sleep better” and “handle problems better.” Sobriety made him gain “mental clarity” and feeling “healthier” and “fitter.” Sleep problems and alcohol are deeply interlinked, the American Addiction Centres have found that between 35% and 70% of individuals who drink alcohol have insomnia.
Holland then described how he often used alcohol as a social lubricant. When he began his sober journey, he was terrified of being in many social situations without drinking. However, Tom Holland found that pushing himself outside his comfort zone has helped him re-integrate into social situations without drinking.
Following this realisation, he decided to stop drinking all-together and he has been sober for over a year and a half. Holland’s story of sobriety is an inspiring one. Drinking alcohol is a socially expected habit for many to pick up. Heavy drinking can lead to an array of health problems. Sobriety is a brave choice to make in a culture where drinking is the norm.
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