Miley Cyrus says she became sober in her 20s through resilience and the help of therapy.
The pop singer, who stars in the live Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special on March 24, discussed her sobriety journey in a new Variety cover story.
By her mid-20s, the three-time Grammy winner had released her sixth studio album, 2017’s Younger Now, a return to country pop following her experimentation with rap and psych rock on previous albums Bangerz and Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz. All three albums arrived in the years following Cyrus’ transition from being a Disney Channel star.
“It’s no surprise that I had my experiences with drugs and alcohol,” the entertainer told Variety. “I was so used to living at a high, and I don’t think I ever learned how to come down from that. Now, through a sober lens, I can have compassion and understanding for myself.”
The now-33-year-old turned to therapy and psychotherapy treatment Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), which alleviates stress and trauma through rapid eye movement.
“You didn’t see any nerves, right?” Cyrus asked regarding her taping of the upcoming Hannah Montana special. “In the past, that would have taken over my entire body. I would have been frozen.”
Cyrus has also avoided touring in the 12 years since she went on the road to support Bangerz, not wanting to leave her family, routine, and “normalcy.”
The pop vocalist quit drinking in 2020, and three years before that, stopped smoking marijuana, which she discussed in a 2025 interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe.
“I’ve learned this about myself over the years,” Cyrus told the media personality. “The sobriety is like, that’s like my God. I need it, I live for it. I mean that it’s changed my entire life.”