Tonto Dikeh recalls addiction battle in anti-drug campaign

Tonto Dikeh Reveals How Addiction Became Her Escape From Emotional Pain

Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh has shared a deeply personal account of her past addiction battle, saying substance abuse became an escape from emotional pain she could not explain.

Dikeh disclosed this in a social media post in which she urged Nigerians to stay away from drugs and encouraged people to support individuals struggling with addiction.

According to the actress, her experience taught her that drugs cannot heal emotional wounds.

She said substances may appear to provide an escape but ultimately leave the underlying pain unresolved while gradually damaging the life of the person using them.

Dikeh urged people battling addiction to seek help and appealed to society to look beyond their outward behaviour.

She recalled being viewed as chaotic, angry and self-destructive during her own difficult period.

“I was once the chaos people judged. The noise. The mess. The broken decisions,” she wrote.

However, she said those who judged her did not always see the emotional suffering behind her actions.

Dikeh explained that she was not attracted to darkness but was searching desperately for relief.

“I wasn’t lost because I loved the darkness. I was lost because I was hurting,” she said.

The actress described addiction as a symptom of deeper pain rather than her true identity.

She said drugs became her escape from feelings she could not put into words.

“Drugs weren’t the problem, they were the symptom. Addiction wasn’t my identity, it was my escape from pain I didn’t know how to name,” she wrote.

Dikeh also spoke about her faith in God, saying divine intervention played a major role in her recovery.

She explained that while people may write someone off because of their mistakes, there could still be a future waiting for that person.

The actress consequently called for an end to the stigmatisation of people battling addiction.

She urged people to condemn drug abuse without condemning the individual trapped in addiction.

“Hate the drugs. Hate the addiction. But never stop praying for the person trapped inside it,” Dikeh said.

She stressed that addiction does not make a person worthless or beyond redemption.

Dikeh described her own journey as evidence that healing and restoration are possible.

She concluded by urging people to continue supporting and praying for those facing addiction, noting that someone’s life could depend on such intervention.