Margaret Cho is grateful for her sobriety.
While attending the Out100 Event at Neuehouse in Hollywood, Calif. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, the comedian, 56, opened up about being sober for multiple years and how it has changed her.
“I’m eight and a half years sober. … It feels like another life,” Cho, who was an honoree at the event, told PEOPLE exclusively. “So I feel like it’s been a long time, but it’s been a short time too.”
“I really love being sober, and I’m really grateful to be sober,” she continued.
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According to Cho, her path to sobriety began after a journey of self-reflection.
“I just didn’t realize what a problem it was. Like, I just didn’t really know or understand,” she said.
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“Fortunately, I had people around me who loved me enough to really take care of me, so it was like they were alerting me to the problem,” continued Cho. “But a lot of times people who are addicts, we just don’t know.”
She added, “I’m so amazed at how different life is. Like, I thought that the party would be over, but actually when you put all that stuff down, the party begins. So, really, I’ve been partying all this time. The best way to party is to party sober.”
Cho said she is currently “just at peace all the time,” which has “helped every area of my life.”
“My mental health and my peace of mind. Like I’m really a very happy person and I never really understood that. I thought I was a depressed person. I thought I was a troubled girl, but I’m actually really happy,” she added.
The star also said her advice for others in the new year is to “try to go without drinking and using drugs. Just see what it feels like to let that go.”
“I think people use it almost as a security blanket or they use it to, like, quell anxieties about being at a party or going out or whatever,” Cho continued. “See what it feels like to just not do it and then see where that leads you.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
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