Rob Delaney has marked 19 years of sobriety by recalling the car crash that prompted him to give up drinking.
The Catastrophe star, 44, shared a message on Instagram in which he detailed the incident which saw him detained by police with two broken arms.
Delaney said he had been “thrilled with relief” when doctors told him he was suffering from alcoholism, as he had begun to suspect he was schizophrenic.
The actor and comedian has often shared messages with his social media followers marking milestones in his recovery.
He wrote: “Today marks 19 years that I’ve been sober. This last year was one of the wildest so far, for me and you, whoever you are.
“I was often grateful this year that I had a big cushion (yeah baby) of sobriety behind me because I imagine getting sober during the pandemic/lockdown would be very hard.
“Why not drink a bit extra or smoke the odd doob to dull the drudgery? Not to mention the grief and confusion. Myself I could never limit it to that.”
Recalling crashing his car into a building owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, he added: “19 years ago today I was in jail in a wheelchair with 2 badly broken arms.
“I’d driven a car into a building while blacked out. Miraculously no one else was hurt.
“I’d been trying to quit drinking for years, but it took that accident to realize my drinking was deadly to the world at large.
“I thrilled with relief when doctors (and police and judges) suggested it might be alcoholism because I was beginning to worry it was schizophrenia toward the end. The compulsion to drink had become terrifying.
“Blessedly, there is another way. My deepest gratitude to those helped me along the way. Love to you all.”
The Irish-American actor, who was born in Boston, Massachusetts, shares three sons with his wife Leah.
Their fourth son Henry died in January 2018 aged two after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Delaney has spoken of how being sober allowed him to fully grieve the loss.
