Eminem Opens Up About Near-Fatal Overdose That Changed His Life

Eminem has shared deeply personal details about his 2007 near-fatal overdose and the life-changing moment that inspired his journey to sobriety. He reveals how missing his daughter’s special moment became the catalyst for his recovery in his new documentary “Stans.”

The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, candidly discusses his decade-long struggle with prescription medications, including Vicodin, Valium, Ambien, and Xanax, that began in the late 1990s and culminated in a dangerous health crisis that hospitalized him.

The Wake-Up Call That Saved His Life

The 52-year-old rapper described the terrifying experience of his overdose and the confusion that followed. “I woke up in the hospital and I didn’t know what happened. I woke up in the hospital with tubes in me and s–t and I couldn’t get up, I wanted to move,” Eminem revealed in the documentary, per Us Weekly.

The prescription drug addiction had created a destructive pattern that nearly cost him his life. “I got into this vicious cycle of, ‘I’m depressed so I need more pills,'” he explained. “Then your tolerance gets so high that you end up overdosing.”

However, the moment that truly transformed his perspective wasn’t the medical emergency itself, but rather learning about what he had missed while battling his addiction. The turning point came when he discovered he had missed his daughter Hailie Jade‘s guitar recital, now 29, due to his substance abuse.

“I cried because it was like, ‘Oh my god, I missed that,'” Eminem shared. The emotional impact of this realization forced him to confront his priorities and make a definitive choice about his future.

The rapper recalled the internal dialogue that ultimately led to his commitment to sobriety. “I kept saying to myself, ‘Do you want to [expletive] miss this again? Do you want to miss everything? If you can’t do it for yourself, you [expletive] [expletive], at least do it for them,'” he revealed.

Rebuilding From the Ground Up

Recovery required Eminem to essentially start over in multiple aspects of his life and career. The process of getting sober meant relearning fundamental skills that his addiction had compromised over the years.

“I realized I’m never doing this again,” he stated, marking the beginning of his commitment to sobriety that has now lasted 17 years. The early stages of recovery presented unexpected challenges that extended beyond physical withdrawal symptoms.

“I needed to relearn how to walk, talk and for the most part had to relearn how to rap again,” Eminem explained in the documentary. “My writing had gotten terrible.”

Despite these initial struggles, his creative abilities returned more quickly than anticipated. “When I started to get it back, it was exciting. Because I felt it,” he shared, describing how conversations and even television sparked new lyrical ideas.

His perspective on sobriety evolved from embarrassment to empowerment. “I started treating sobriety like a superpower and I took pride in the fact that I was able to quit,” Eminem revealed.

This transformation influenced his 2009 album “Relapse,” which documented his recovery experience and marked a new chapter in both his personal life and musical career.