What Not To Assume About A Person's Sobriety, According To Rumer Willis

While it's true that some people choose to go sober after going through heavy substance use, that isn't quite the story for others.

When actress Rumer Willis celebrated six months of sobriety in July, she told People, many people were quick to assume that she chose sobriety because she had battled addiction.

Instead, she said, she did so after doing dry January and deciding to keep going.

"My decision to become sober wasn’t out of a need necessarily, it was more just that I did ‘sober January’ and I just decided to keep going," she told People. "I wouldn’t consider saying I had a substance abuse problem by any means."

In an Instagram post in July, Willis had written, "I will be the first one to say I'm not perfect and I mess up sometimes and every once in a while I get it right but I wanted to share this because I am really proud of myself. Yesterday I celebrated 6 Months of Sobriety. It's not something I planned on but after the long journey of getting here I can honestly say I have never been more proud of myself in my entire life. Thank you all for the love and support and remember to be gentle with yourself."

Speaking to People, however, Willis said that people made assumptions based on the post, despite her never explicitly stating what she was sober from.

"I didn’t say I was sober from anything, I could have been sober from a food addiction or buying too many clothes or from relationships or whatever, but I think we’re in this culture where we naturally presume and assume," she said. "Like I remember like there was this whole huge [Good Morning America] story that I’ve secretly struggled with this really intense addiction and how have I kept it hidden. And I was like, 'I’ve kept it hidden because there’s nothing [to hide.]'"