John Mulaney on Relapse and Drug Rehab

John Mulaney’s Story of Addiction and Recovery

John Mulaney is best known for his comedic role in Saturday Night Live and Netflix stand-up comedy specials. This comedian who is married to actress Olivia Munn has been open and candid about his long-standing battle with addiction within his comedy acts and interviews with the media. The 39-year-old comedian has come a long way in his story of recovery and has recently welcomed a baby boy. John has been candid about his gratitude for how far he has come since his life in addiction and his family that he has welcomed into the world. John’s story is one of perseverance and resilience as he bounced back from a relapse after a long period of sobriety and continued to rise to the top again within a sober, healthy mindstate.

In previous interviews, John has detailed his experience with addiction dating as far back as when he was 13 years old. John explained that he was an outgoing kid growing up with an active social life and little to no fears. However, this changed when John turned 12 and he found that his confidence and ability to relate to others through comedy shifted. In an attempt to find himself and regain his comedic confidence to socialize with his peers, John began engaging in alcohol use at the young age of 13. Throughout his teens, John began to experiment and engage in drug use including cocaine abuse which he openly admitted that he “loved it”  and prescription drug abuse with John admitting that he has dabbled in Vicodin use. John’s drug and alcohol use progressed throughout his teenage years with many blackout episodes occurring and having his parents attempt to intervene and bring him to a psychiatrist who stated that John was a half nice kid and “half gorilla trying to kill the other half”. It wasn’t until John was in the midst of a drug and alcohol-fuelled bender when he was 23 years old, that he was able to reach his rock bottom. John recounts that at this time he was fading in and out of blackouts and had even reached the point of drinking perfume to feel intoxicated. As he was coming in and out of consciousness, John was able to have a completely reflective and life-changing moment where he recognized that he did not want to live a life of drug and alcohol addiction. From that point on, John was able to quit cold turkey from drugs and alcohol.

John was able to remain sober for 15 years and it wasn’t until the year 2020, at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic that John experienced a relapse. John has described in interviews the impact of a lack of routine due to quarantine had on his overall wellbeing and contributed to his recent relapse. A lapse in projects to work on and a lack of focus on work and day-to-day life created a challenge for him that ultimately led to his relapse on alcohol and cocaine. John was working on the Late Night show with Seth Meyers and recently described in an interview with Seth that he remembers attending Saturday Night Live being heavily intoxicated from cocaine and attempting to mask his drug use from others. Seth Meyers had recognized that John was struggling and contacted SNL to follow up about how he was doing. 

The Intervention That Helped Him Go Back to Rehab

When someone you love and care about is struggling with addiction, it is heartbreaking and difficult to watch them suffer through the pains of alcohol or drug addiction. In an effort to help and support your friend or family member living with an active drug or alcohol addiction, gathering a group of the friends and family members closest to the individual living with an addiction to hold an intervention is an option many family and friends will choose to support their loved one. Interventions should be properly planned with the support of a medical professional or counselor that will help guide the family and friends to effectively communicate their concerns to the individual living with addiction while providing them with solutions to get help if they wish. 

John was fortunate to have a group of friends that loved and cared for him deeply to facilitate intervention in an attempt to have him address his relapse with drugs and alcohol. John has openly discussed the intervention held for him and described the incident with talk shows hosts throughout the nighttime circuit. John recounts opening the doors to his intervention and immediately being aware of the situation that was around him and intervention was taking place. John originally had thought that he was going to dinner with a colleague but immediately understood what the real purpose of the meeting was once he entered the room. However, John did not react in rage or anger, but remembers feeling a sense of ego needing to be the one in control of the room, and openly admitting that he was a drug addict and needed the support of a drug rehab program to maintain his self proclaimed image of the smartest person in the room. John attempted to continue to deny his current drug and alcohol use even during his intervention stating that he was not under the influence. Throughout interviews, after John got sober, he admitted that he had done large amounts of cocaine prior and was “very coked up”. John accepted the help and entered a Pennsylvania rehab program. 

How Long Was John Mulaney in Rehab?

Once John made the decision to enter into a Pennsylvania drug rehab program, he decided to stay for a 60-day addiction treatment program. Throughout his drug rehab program, John reports feeling committed and dedicated to his program to get healthy and stable for his family and himself. 

A 60-day rehab program provides individuals ample opportunities to engage in a therapeutic process that looks deep within to understand the root causes of addiction. With the support of comprehensive approaches to treatment that include cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, trauma therapy, and holistic treatments, patients are able to work on shifting the negative emotions and thoughts linked to addictive behaviors to provide effective tools for relapse prevention and maintaining a stable life in recovery. 60 days in an inpatient drug rehab program will allow an individual that time and support needed to heal from the underlying causes of addiction and create positive emotional regulation and awareness that will foster life in sobriety. 

Why John Mulaney Went to Sober Living After Rehab

John Mulaney successfully completed his 60-day drug rehab program and reported feeling healthy and happy since entering into addiction treatment. John and his publicists have told various media outlets that while John is feeling well and on a positive path for sobriety that he would like more time to focus on his addiction recovery within an outpatient, sober living facility. During this time, John has decided to remain focused on his journey in recovery and put a hiatus on returning to work until he is feeling strong, stable, and prepared to enter back into work and home commitments. 

For many individuals coming out of drug and alcohol rehab, it is common to feel some uneasiness as you prepare to enter back into the environments that contributed to your drug and alcohol addiction. Inpatient drug rehab provides individuals with the insight to gain an understanding of what fuels their addiction while teaching coping methods to overcome potential triggers. Once inpatient rehab is completed, it is recommended to continue to receive ongoing support from counselors within the addiction treatment center through sober living and aftercare options where patients can take what they have learned and apply it to their day-to-day life with ease. As situations or emotions come up, individuals will have ready access to addiction counselors who will process with you and assist you in relapse prevention through effective emotional processing and regulation. 

Life After Rehab

John Mulaney has openly appreciated and thanked his famous comedian friends for taking the time to intervene and support him to get the help that he needed through alcohol and drug rehab. Since getting sober within an addiction treatment center, John has reported that his life has gotten substantially better as he has become more connected with his wife, Olivia, and their son. John is able to see the bright future ahead thanks to the ongoing support of addiction counselors, family, and friends.

If you are struggling with a drug and alcohol addiction and are ready to take the initial leap into addiction treatment, contact Resurgence Behavioral Health to hear more about the individualized comprehensive approaches to treatment that will meet your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs to provide a solid shift and change towards your overarching goal of a life in sobriety. 

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— Resurgence Behavioral Health (@RBHRecovery) March 16, 2022

Alexa Iocco