Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been continuously sober since the year 2000. He’s struggled with cocaine, heroin, and alcohol use. The song “Under the Bridge,” one of the band’s most popular, is about a time Kiedis used drugs under a bridge in LA.
One day during his first attempt at sobriety, Kiedis wrote the lyrics to the song on the way home from band practice. He had recently lost his friend and the original guitarist for the band, Hillel Slovak, to a heroin overdose. He was filled with grief and loneliness, but he had been sober for a couple of years.
“When I got home that day, I started thinking about my life and how sad it was right now,” he said. “But no matter how sad or lonely I got, things were a million percent better than they were two years earlier when I was using drugs all the time. There was no comparison. I was reminding myself, ‘Okay, things might feel fucked up right now, but I don’t ever want to feel like I did two years ago.’”[1]
Kiedis first started drinking and using drugs at age 12, when he went to live with his father. His dad struggled with addiction and shared drugs with him. The first time he got sober was in 1988. In 1994, he relapsed after a dental procedure. Despite asking not to be given opioids, the doctor prescribed him the painkiller Tramadol.
Kiedis got sober again in 2000 and has been in recovery ever since. Throughout his time in addiction and sobriety, he has been open about his struggles and the work it takes to stay sober.
“I’ve wanted to feel pleasure to the point of insanity,” he said. “They call it getting high, because it’s wanting to know that higher level, that godlike level. You want to touch the heavens, you want to feel glory and euphoria, but the trick is it takes work. You can’t buy it, you can’t get it on a street corner, you can’t steal it or inject it or shove it up your ass, you have to earn it.”[2]
Kiedis has put in the work, and he has a good life. “I happen to love being sober…Being sober for me is a pleasure,” he said. “I get a lot of joy out of it…I get to surf; I get to hang out with my son; I get to play music; I get to be okay.”[3]
If you are struggling with a substance use or mental health disorder, there is help and hope. TruHealing Centers offers high-quality treatment for mental health disorders and addiction in facilities across the country. Our staff—many of whom are in recovery themselves—will help you get and stay sober. To learn more, call an admissions specialist at 410-593-0005.
[1] https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/red-hot-chili-peppers-the-naked-truth-192368/
[2] https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2955.Anthony_Kiedis
[3] https://loudwire.com/red-hot-chili-peppers-anthony-kiedis-not-fazed-relapse-rumors-hospitalization/