Brett Favre has been open about his painkiller addiction in the years since he retired from the NFL, and the Hall of Famer spoke more about it on his podcast this week. He also revealed that he once had suicidal thoughts.
In the latest episode of “Bolling with Favre” with co-host Eric Bolling, Favre told special guest Dr. Phil about one of the lowest points of his life and struggle with addiction. The Green Bay Packers legend said he was addicted to pain pills and unable to sleep at night despite how well his career was going.
“It was crazy. But I was low,” Favre recalled, as transcribed by Chris Franklin of NJ.com. “I said it would be one of two things: Either I die, or I flush these pills down the toilet.”
Favre contemplated the decision for two hours before flushing all his painkillers down the toilet. He said he contemplated suicide not long after.
“I almost wanted to kill myself because of doing that,” Favre said. “I could not believe that I had actually done that. I was so mad at myself because now what was I going to do?”
Favre said he had problems for two weeks after coming off the pain pills. He recalled that he “shook with cold sweats and hot sweats” every night at around 9 p.m., which was the time he used to take them.
This isn’t the first time Favre has been candid about his painkiller addiction. He also opened up a few years back about how many times he needed to go to rehab because of it. The fact that he also had suicidal thoughts is another reminder of how serious the problem was during Favre’s career.
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