Erik Thomson has opened up for the first time about a decade-long addiction battle.
The Packed to the Rafters star, 57, was chatting to Rae Bonney on her Men’s Health podcast when he made the candid admission.
He revealed that the fickle nature of acting had seen him turn to alcohol.
‘This industry is incredibly fickle and very insecure and over a along period of time it can get under your skin,’ Erik admitted.
‘There’s a healthy way to manage it and an unhealthy way to manage it – and I’ve done both.’
When Rae pressed the actor on how the ‘unhealthy’ way manifested, Erik admitted that he had been struggling with sobriety since 2011.
Erik Thomson has opened up for the first time about a decade-long addiction battle. Pictured
‘I’ve had struggles with addiction, I’ve had struggles with alcohol,’ Erik revealed.
‘It’s something I’ve been dealing with. I started to turn and face it in about 2011, so quite a long time, and I’ve had long, long periods of sobriety.
‘And I’ve had times where I’ve fallen off the wagon and, you know, I’ve needed to find some solace or some kind of whatever in a drug, in something.’
Erik added that he turned to alcohol as a way to cope with the anxiety that comes with being in such an uncertain industry.
‘I needed to fill that kind of hole or deal with not high-level anxiety but just that low-level constant anxiety,’ he said.
‘Sometimes you just need to stop the fear, and that’s when the unhealthy reaching for a bottle or reaching for whatever to have a momentary holiday if you like.
‘So, I’ve had to do a lot of work on that and I continue to do a lot of work on that, ’cause it’s a lifelong thing.’
Erik also admitted that he had joined Alcoholic’s Anonymous which had helped him deal with the ‘shame’ that can come with addiction.
Erik’s admission comes after reports emerged, last month, that he had split with his wife of 25 years Caitlin McDougall, Both pictured
‘I had fellowship through AA, and if I had a stumble then one of the things that comes up is shame,’ Erik explained,
‘Shame is a massive thing and that can keep you away and keep you away from asking for help, because you don’t want to lean on anyone anymore.
‘Then the loneliness kicks in and the isolation kicks in. The only way you can feel better is to stay in the cycle.’
The candid chat also saw Erik reveal that he got sober during seasons four and five of Packed To The Rafters, and the difference was palpable.
‘My energy levels were different, you know?’ he said.
‘You’re dehydrated, you’re puffy, you’re kind of dead behind the eyes, there’s just a lack of presence, you know, you’re just not really there.’
Erik’s admission comes after reports emerged, last month, that he had split with his wife of 25 years Caitlin McDougall.
‘I’ve had struggles with addiction, I’ve had struggles with alcohol,’ Erik revealed. ‘It’s something I’ve been dealing with. I started to turn and face it in about 2011, so quite a long time, and I’ve had long, long periods of sobriety. Pictured with Packed to the Rafters stars Hugh Sheridan, Rebecca Gibney, Jessica Marais and Angus McLaren
The couple, who first met in a pub in 1997, no longer follow each other on Instagram and have not posted photos of each other for more than two years.
Neither have made an official statement on their apparent separation.
The pair met in a pub while watching Adelaide’s AFL Grand Final win in 1997 and married two years later in the wine district of McLaren Vale.
They tied the knot at Penny’s Hill – a winery founded by McDougall’s stepfather Tony Parkinson – and have two children: daughter Eilish, 15, and son Magnus, 12.
In 2005 and 2006, the couple co-starred on The Alice, a Nine miniseries set in Alice Springs.
Thomson and McDougall later based themselves in Sydney while Thomson worked as Dave Rafter popular Seven series Packed to the Rafters from 2008 to 2013.
The Scottish-born actor is best known for his role on Packed to the Rafters, but also starred in popular shows like 800 Words and Aftertaste.
He also featured in the medical drama All Saints which ran for an impressive 12 years before its final episode aired in 2009.
