--- description: Ben Affleck opened up about his struggle with alcohol addiction in a vulnerable Instagam post after a recent trip to rehab. title: Ben Affleck on Alcohol Addiction: 'I'm Fighting for My Family' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee78cbdef84dcb9/69893bf3ab6d775af56b3dc1/ben-affleck-releases-statement-alcohol-addiction.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ben Affleck on Alcohol Addiction: 'Getting Help Is a Sign of Courage, Not Weakness or Failure'  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 5, 2018 2:58 PM CUT  HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 13: Actor Ben Affleck attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Justice League" at Dolby Theatre on November 13, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images) HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 13: Actor Ben Affleck attends the premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Justice League" at Dolby Theatre on November 13, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)Emma McIntyre—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 5, 2018 2:58 PM CUT [Ben Affleck](http://time.com/5220678/ben-affleck-new-yorker-tweet-response-back-tattoo/ "undefined") spoke up about his struggle with [alcohol addiction](http://time.com/5138349/drugs-alcohol-suicide-life-expectancy/ "undefined") 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.](http://time.com/4701719/ben-affleck-alcohol-addiction-rehab-treatment/ "undefined") Read Affleck’s full Instagram statement on alcohol addiction below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5416795/ben-affleck-alcohol-addiction-statement-instagram/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5416795/ben-affleck-alcohol-addiction-statement-instagram/"},"headline":"Ben Affleck on Alcohol Addiction: 'Getting Help Is a Sign of Courage, Not Weakness or Failure'","datePublished":"2018-10-05T14:58:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:55:18.650Z","description":"The actor took to his Instagram to talk about addiction","url":"https://time.com/5416795/ben-affleck-alcohol-addiction-statement-instagram/","keywords":["Newsfeed","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee78cbdef84dcb9/69893bf3ab6d775af56b3dc1/ben-affleck-releases-statement-alcohol-addiction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5ee78cbdef84dcb9/69893bf3ab6d775af56b3dc1/ben-affleck-releases-statement-alcohol-addiction.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' \"Justice League\" - Red Carpet","caption":"Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' \"Justice League\" - Red Carpet","creditText":"Emma McIntyre—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5416795/ben-affleck-alcohol-addiction-statement-instagram/","name":"Ben Affleck on Alcohol Addiction: 'Getting Help Is a Sign of Courage, Not Weakness or Failure'"}}]}] ```