Jada Pinkett Smith discussed her past struggle with "addictions" in a reflective Facebook post recently.
The "Hawthorne" actress has been using her Facebook as an advice column-journal hybrid for some time now, USA Today notes. On Sept. 19, a day after her birthday, Pinkett Smith took pause to think about the last 42 years of her life.
"What I learned about myself is this, when I was younger I was not a good problem solver, meaning I had a very difficult time with dealing with my problems in life," she wrote. "I had many addictions, of several kinds, to deal with my life issues, but today, at 42, I have my wisdom, my heart and my conscience as the only tools to overcome life's inevitable obstacles. I have become a good problem solver with those tools, and I am damn proud."
While she did not elaborate on what exactly those "addictions" were, Pinkett Smith did note that she hopes to continue along a path of "healthy understanding."
"What I hope is that we all continue to gain healthy understanding that life is really about ... solving problems, and also about us learning to become masters at solving them," she concluded.
Last year, Pinkett Smith's mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, discussed her own struggle with addiction during a conversation for Pinkett Smith's "Red Table Talks." She revealed she was addicted to drugs until her daughter was in her late teens.
"It was a very difficult time for us," Banfield said at the table, addressing her granddaughter, Willow. "You know, Jada did not have the kind of life that you have now. I was not a good mother, in my eyes. I know that your mom believes that all experiences, good and bad, help make you the person that you are today. But I just feel like during those times, the bad times outweighed the good."
After Pinkett Smith turned 40 back in 2011, she said it was a "surreal" experience to reach that age because she had grown up in a "drug-infested ... war zone," and she didn't think she would make it to 21.
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