Gypsy Rose Blanchard feared she would fall back into the throes of addiction following her release from prison last December.
“I was concerned about relapsing before I got out of prison because that thought did cross my mind,” she told People, reflecting on her time incarcerated while promoting her new book, “My Time to Stand.”
The former convicted felon — who served seven years in prison for the 2015 murder of her mother, Clauddine “Dee Dee” Blanchard, after years of abuse — previously suffered from an opioid addiction.
“About four or five years ago, I was addicted to Suboxone, [a medication to treat opioid addiction]. I succumbed to and overcame, then succumbed to again and overcame again … an opioid addiction,” she first revealed in her e-book, “Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom.”
In her new memoir, Gypsy addresses how her mom’s Munchausen by proxy — which is a mental illness in which a caretaker fakes a child’s illness to obtain attention — affected her own mental health.
“Her emotions were a whip that snapped against my self-worth. I found solace and escape in drugs, especially after we began fighting a lot,” she writes, per People.
“I remember the first time I sought out the painkillers for no pain at all, and it was after Mama and I were yelling at each other for what seemed like over an hour. I just wanted to relax.”
Once she was in prison, Gypsy found herself trying to “scrounge” for drugs, telling herself, “You have to find it, really kind of get into the groove of who has what in prison.”
The mom-to-be — who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Ken Urker — said she thought the pills would be “more accessible” in the “real world,” but fortunately hasn’t found the urge to use again.
“I haven’t gone looking, so I don’t really know how accessible it is,” she added.
Gypsy credits the love and support she’s received from dad Rod Blanchard, stepmom Kristy Blanchard, and her half-siblings, Mia Blanchard and Dylan Blanchard, for helping her overcome her struggles.
“When I came out, I was surprised to learn that the family dynamic kept me away from that stuff,” she shared. “I haven’t thought about doing anything. I haven’t had any cravings.”
Gypsy added that she considers herself “very blessed,” concluding that “even in the hardest moments of this year with dealing with social media trolls and the self-esteem that could be brought down in all the scrutiny and how hectic that is, I still never considered going back to that.”
If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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