Ben Affleck on Alcohol Addiction: 'Getting Help Is a Sign of Courage, Not Weakness or Failure'

Ben Affleck spoke up about his struggle with alcohol addiction in a vulnerable statement posted on his Instagram account on Thursday night, after completing a 40-day stay at a rehab center.

The Academy Award-winning director and screenwriter wrote about how battling any addiction is a “lifelong and difficult struggle” and thanked his family, colleagues and fans, noting that he is committed to battling addiction because he is “fighting for myself and my family.” Affleck also shared that he is in outpatient care and thanked those that reached out on social media for sharing their stories about their challenges with addiction, crediting them with helping him with fighting addiction.

“It helps to know I am not alone,” Affleck wrote. “As I’ve had to remind myself, if you have a problem, getting help is a sign of courage, not weakness or failure.” This isn’t the first time that Affleck has taken to social media to speak about his alcohol addiction treatment; in 2017, he wrote about completing treatment for it on his Facebook page.

Read Affleck’s full Instagram statement on alcohol addiction below.

Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com.