Michael Jackson’s daughter Paris Jackson reveals the painful truth behind her darkest years

KOUSHIKI ROY Tue, August 18, 2026 at 6:26 AM UTC

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Paris Jackson attends Paramount Pictures' "Jackass: Best And Last" Los Angeles Premiere ©Getty

Substance abuse, along with “mental illness," became an integral part of Paris Jackson’s life, about which she opens up in a recent podcast. It cannot be denied that struggling with these aspects is not easy, and Jackson shares painful truths and details of how she struggled with these while growing up after her father’s death.

In a recent podcast with Jay Shetty titled On Purpose, Jackson reveals how “unbearable” life had become for her at a certain point in time.

Paris Jackson on the struggles of her past and her recovery journey

Paris Jackson has a past of struggling with mental health issues along with substance abuse, about which she opens up in the podcast, On Purpose. After her father’s death, Jackson became involved with alcohol and drugs. One year after she began using drugs and alcohol, she reportedly attempted to end her life at the mere age of 15.

Paris Jackson attends Vivienne Westwood - Photocall - Paris Fashion Week - Womenswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 - Source: Getty

Soon, Jackson was sent to a facility in Utah to receive treatment. However, the PTSD for which she arrived at the treatment facility became worse after two years of treatment. In the podcast, she notes that she was left with “more PTSD” after the treatment.

During this period, she began to suffer from “nightmares”. However, even after the difficulties she faced at the treatment center, she notes that she “was one of the lucky ones”. According to Paris Jackson, there were many who faced “physical or sexual abuse” that she did not. She adds that though she did not face any “physical or sexual abuse”, she came across immense “psychological, emotional, spiritual abuses” at the facility.

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After trying to take her life at the age of 15, she reportedly attempted it once again after a few years, but it “didn’t work”. Even after she consumed an entire bottle of pills with an “entire bottle of vodka” she woke up four hours later as the attempt failed to end her life. These eventually led her to a path of sobriety as she hit a “proper rock bottom”.

She came across immense struggles while navigating through the dark thoughts that came to her mind during this journey. She faced doubts as she felt that she “can’t be here anymore”, while also having thoughts regarding how it is not her “time” yet, so she is “stuck here.” She thought of many ways through which she could end her pain and even thought of hanging herself, but stopped when she “feared” that if it did not work just as the other times, she might end up “kind of paralyzed”.

In the podcast, she also speaks about the transient nature of both “happiness” and “pain”. Hence, when times get difficult, she knows that “there is a way out” of the difficulties, as she has “done” it before and will be able to “do it again”. Paris Jackson is now all set to release her new album, Happiest Day of My Life. The album is set to release on August 21.

The cover, which can be seen on her Happiest Day of My Life album, also has a deeper meaning. In the podcast, the singer notes that even though she is five years sober, she often had s*icidal thoughts, which she could not evade. She has now started ECT so that it can help her.

The album cover of her new album has a picture of her staring at the camera with a bite guard placed in her mouth, inspired by the treatment that she has gone through. Paris Jackson released her debut album, Wilted, in the year 2020.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”