Eminem Talks Rehab and Recovery in GQ Interview

Eminem has always been candid about his addiction to prescription drugs. In GQ's upcoming 'Gods of Rock' issue, the Detroit rapper goes into great detail of his five-year battle with drugs and how his life spiraled out of control.

By his own admission, Em claims to have popped 60 to 90 pills a day that included a concoction of Vicodin, Ambien, Valium and Seroquel (used to treat schizophrenia). Unfortunately, he suffered some memory loss and still can’t recall many important events from his career. "Ambien ate a hole through my brain," he tells GQ Senior Editor Will Welch.

The road to recovery was also a major challenge for Eminem. His first experiences in rehab wasn't so pleasurable. "Everyone was staring at me," he told GQ.  "I could never be comfortable. They [were] stealing my hats, my books -- it was chaos. And at the time, I didn't really want to get clean. Everybody else wanted me to. And anyone will tell you: If you're not ready, nothing is going to change you. Love, nothing."

Frustrated and depressed, he left rehab and still continue using drugs. Then he relapsed and was admitted to a hospital. "I came to in the hospital and I didn't know what the f--- happened," Em recalls. "Tubes in me and s---, f---in' needles in my arms. I didn't realize I had [overdosed]. I think I was clean for two weeks. I was trying so hard -- I was trying to do it for my kids -- but I just wasn't ready."

Ultimately, it was death that made Em want to kick his drug habit. "I had a feeling in my arm that was weird, man," he says. "Like, it really freaked me out. So I went to some people I trust and said, 'Look, I know I need help. I'm ready now.' I got a room in the same hospital where I overdosed, and I detoxed."

After receiving lukewarm reviews on both 'Relapse' and 'Recovery,' despite them being his biggest-selling albums, Eminem feels that he has a lot to prove to his fans. "On an emotional level, I want my music to connect with the same kid who I was," he says. "So it was like, 'Okay, let me get serious. Because I feel like I'm being [written] off right now, and I'm kind of on my last leg.' I felt like the underdog again."

GQ’s 'Gods of Rock' issue hits newsstands on Oct. 25.