Keith Urban Speaks Out About Rehab

Keith Urban has gone online to address his recent stay in rehab saying the reason he went in was because his life had become ?unmanageable.?

?There was no big cataclysmic event that happened right before I went in,? he began in an address on KeithUrban.net. ?What it was, was a lot of small things that were happening in my life, and a lot of small moments that were starting to accumulate that were telling me very loud and clear that I was a long way from my program of recovery, and they were making my life unmanageable.?

Urban says he entered the Betty Ford center in Palm Springs, California at his own choosing, on the eve of the release of his fifth album Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing.

?I got to a point where I wanted to go in to treatment, so I went in on that date. It was far from an ideal time to go into treatment . . . While I was in there, of course, I had my birthday on October 26th, my record was released, I missed Thanksgiving, and all the holidays. So, it was a time that had a lot of consequences, that particular three months,? he said.

Urban explained his lengthy stay which lasted over three months was down to a learning process.

?That first thirty days I learned what they say in NARE, abstinence is the ticket into the movie; it’s not the movie,? he said. ?Learning about abstinence was one thing, but then there was all this other area of my life to start learning about. So, thirty days became sixty, sixty days became ninety, and with each week that passed, I found myself really learning to surrender especially with my career, with playing music, because it’s what I’ve always done.?

Thanking his fans and family for the support he received while undergoing treatment, Urban said he has gained knowledge from the experience. In particular he singled out the support he received from Nicole Kidman, who Urban married shortly before entering the facility.

?My wife stayed extraordinarily strong, and loving, and my friends and family were there,? he stated. ?It’s just been really overwhelming. I feel so much gratitude, and it feels really good to have gone through it and be where I am right now. Because where I am right now is starting on that road to getting back to doing what I love which is playing music.?