Demi Moore Opens Up About Self-Destructive Feelings: “I Just Never Felt Good Enough”

Few things are more isolating than experiencing feelings of self-destruction and self-loathing. Demi Moore knows this well.

While accepting the Woman of the Year award at the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House, a recovery and sober living program for women in Los Angeles, Moore revealed that she experienced patterns of self-destructive behavior early in her career and didn’t find solace until she entered a recovery program.

“I was spiraling down a path of real self-destruction and no matter what success I had I just never felt good enough,” Moore said, according to Variety.

Moore credited her recovery to two people she “barely knew” at the time, who she said presented her with an opportunity — or, as she put it, an “ultimatum” — to seek help. She didn’t say who those people were, or why they felt compelled to help her, only that their help inspired her to make what she views were life-saving changes.

“It gave me a chance to redirect the course of my life before I destroyed everything,” she said “Clearly they saw more in me than I saw in myself and I’m so grateful because without that opportunity, without their belief in me, I wouldn’t be standing her today.”

Moore emphasized the importance of avoiding unnecessary comparisons as part of recovery, saying that a “wise teacher” had instructed her to stop measuring herself up against others when she feels what she has to offer is insufficient.

She concluded her speech by vowing to try to fully appreciate her own value moving forward.

“So today, I put down the measuring stick,” Moore said. “And I thank you for this beautiful acknowledgment and the opportunity to know the value of my worth.”