Slim Shady celebrates: Eminem marks 11 years of sobriety

Eminem put down the alcohol and the drugs 11 years ago and is celebrating. Dr. Renee Solomon, a psychologist and the CEO of Los Angeles drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation center Forward Recovery said the rapper has set an example his fans can admire and follow. In a picture posted Saturday on Instagram and Twitter, the 46-year-old rapper, born Marshall Mathers, displayed the annual chip 12-step program members collect for staying sober or clean. The chip displayed the Roman numeral XI, for 11. “11 years,” read the caption. “Still not afraid.” The recovery continues a long road back for Eminem. As People magazine online reported, he acknowledged having a near-fatal accidental methadone overdose in 2007.Eminem told the New York Daily News in those days that he was taking whatever he could to get high. HipHopDX over the weekend recapped the near-overdose, reporting that doctors told the rapper he’d consumed the equivalent of four bags of heroin and was “about two hours from dying.” In 2015, Eminem told Men’s Journal that he began exercising after following his near-overdose with a rehabilitation program. The running helped him function and sleep better, he told the magazine. “It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise,” he said. “One addiction for another but one that’s good for them.” As Billboard reports, Eminem has alluded to his recovery the albums he released after the scare — Relapse (2009) and Recovery (2010). Over the weekend, Eminem’s Twitter fans lauded his recovery milestone. “We are so proud of you,” a Twitter user named Pau wrote Sunday in the comments under the chip picture post, “we love you Marshall.” A Twitter user called Pickledad wrote Sunday, “Really happy you got the help you needed. Most people don’t, they spend the rest of their lives burning bridges and alienating everyone over addiction. Congrats on 11 years.” Dr. Solomon joined in the praise. “So impressive that he has been able to maintain sobriety and be in the music industry,” she said Monday. “Drugs and alcohol are so common in the music industry. So, for him to remain sober and be successful in it is amazing.”