Jackie ‘O’ Henderson reveals she ‘feels lucky to be alive’ following addiction battle: ‘I don’t know how I survived’
KIIS FM star Jackie ‘O’ Henderson recently revealed her private battle with prescription drug and alcohol addiction.
At the height of her battle, she was taking pain killers, sleeping pills and alcohol before seeking help at the Betty Ford Centre in the U.S during a month-long stay.
And now Henderson, 49, has spoken about the ”dark” moments of her addiction battle in a candid new episode of Mental As Anyone with J.Mo, revealing she feels ”lucky to be alive” and ”doesn’t know how she survived”.
Watch the video above.
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Henderson, who has just released her tell-all memoir The Whole Truth, which dives into her addiction battle, said on the podcast that her body “built up a tolerance” to the sleeping pills she was taking.
“It was just a really awful existence to be honest. I may as well have been in a coma practically,” Henderson said.
’‘When you look at the actual medication I was taking, I don’t know how I survived that. It’s just an awful lot for the body to take and I’m petite, it’s crazy.”
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When the host asked if she felt “lucky to be alive?,” Henderson said she did.
“I do, I really feel like somebody was watching over me. They must of been,” she said.
“I was just abusing myself so much, abusing that body and how it held up I have no idea.”
Henderson then spoke about the long-term effects of her battle on her body and said she got the all-clear from doctors that she has no liver damage.
”I was so, so grateful for my body fighting all that and holding up ok,” she added.
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Henderson previously revealed her battle with addiction by doing a planned reading of her book live on her radio show.
“I was in a really, really dark place,” she said at the time, with co-host Kyle Sandilands only finding out about her struggle during the reading.
In November 2022, Jackie O bravely sought professional help and endured a month-long stay in rehab at the Betty Ford Centre in the U.S.
All profits from the sales of the memoir are being donated to a rehabilitation centre, to help others who might be suffering.
If you or someone you know would like to talk to someone confidentially about addiction, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit Reach Out. In an emergency, call 000.
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