Launched in 2013, the harris project is a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of co-occurring disorders (COD) — the combination of mental health challenges and substance use issues. Us Weekly has partnered with the harris project to bring you The Missing Issue, a special edition focusing on the stories of celebrities who struggled with COD. Here, we’re revisiting our past coverage of some of those stars.
This story ran on usmagazine.com on March 7, 2017:
ORIGINAL STORY: SNL’s Pete Davidson Reveals He’s Sober for the First Time in Eight Years: ‘It Wasn’t Easy’
[Read the full original story.]
NEW STORY: SNL’s Pete Davidson Reveals He’s Sober Amid Struggles With PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder
Pete Davidson began performing standup comedy at age 16, and in 2014, at only 20 years old, he debuted as one of Saturday Night Live’s youngest-ever cast members. In the years since, the self-effacing funnyman has established himself as a bankable movie star, a ladies’ man and a television sitcom actor and writer (he created, wrote and starred in Bupkis, a Peacock show loosely based on his life). But Davidson’s larger-than-life reputation has also included very serious mental health struggles and substance use, known as co-occurring disorders. Davidson has openly stated that he has used cocaine, ketamine, marijuana, and other drugs at different points in his life while coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline personality disorder, anxiety and depression.
At 23, Davidson was diagnosed with PTSD and borderline personality disorder (BPD), a condition marked by intense emotional instability, impulsive behavior and difficulty maintaining healthy relationships, he said. “This has been the worst year of my life,” he told “WTF” podcast host Marc Maron in September 2017. “Getting diagnosed with this and trying to figure out how to…live with this.”
Today, Davidson, 31, reminds people that managing co-occurring disorders is a lifelong commitment and that there’s no magic cure — only the resolve to continue the fight.
Pete Davidson Through the Years: Relationships, Career Highlights and More
Losing His Father Led to Abandonment Issues
Davidson’s father, firefighter Scott, died in the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks, when Davidson was only 7 years old. The tragedy fueled lingering childhood trauma and feelings of abandonment. “Nobody knew the right way to deal with it,” he said on an April 2023 episode of the “Real Ones” podcast. “And whether or not that’s right or wrong, it still f—s a kid up.”
He told actor Jon Bernthal on the same podcast episode that his mother, Amy, initially hid the devastating news of his father’s death from him, which played a role in his lingering trust issues and trauma. “My dad told me he was going to pick me up from school on 9/11,” he said. “I got picked up by my mom. She didn’t tell me what was going on for like three days…then one night I turned on the TV and saw [him] … they were like, ‘These are all firemen that are, like, dead.’”
Struggles With PTSD and Self-Harm
“I’ve been self-harming since I was a kid,” Davidson told Bernthal. “I used to cut and I used to bang my head against walls because if I couldn’t deal with something … if someone told me something sad or something I couldn’t deal with, I would bang my head against the wall hoping I would pass out because I didn’t want to be in that situation.”
Davidson credits dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) with teaching him coping mechanisms. “I had to learn that if one little thing isn’t going the right way, that doesn’t mean the whole ship sinks.”
He’s Open About Seeking Professional Help
“Seventh time’s the charm!” Davidson joked in a September 2023 stand-up set after completing his latest stay at a rehabilitation center, per People. The jokey take deflects from Davidson’s decidedly serious belief that professional support is a vital tool for him, specifically for issues related to his PTSD and bipolar disorder. (He reportedly completed another stay last July.)
On an October 2017 episode of SNL, he told the studio audience about his bipolar diagnosis, saying, “If you think you’re depressed, see a doctor and talk to them about medication. And also be healthy. Eating right and exercise can make a huge difference.”
Every Celebrity Who Weighed In on Pete Davidson’s Star-Studded Dating History
Being Aware Is the First Step
Davidson says awareness is a huge part of dealing with co-occurring disorders like his. “I never really see myself as [an advocate],” he told Charlamagne tha God in 2020, “but I’m all for all the awareness. Anything I can do to help, if there’s anything I can do to help. There’s a lot of people who have [mental illness]. It’s like a sledgehammer to the legs. It’s hard to get out of bed. So if it can help anybody, I’m all for it.”
“I think I’ve hit [rock bottom] a few times,” he said. “As long as you’re around good, supportive people, and if you’re strong enough, you’ll be able to get out of it.”
To purchase The Missing Issue for $8.99 go to https://magazineshop.us/harrisproject.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or substance use, you are not alone. Seek immediate intervention — call 911 for medical attention; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; or 1-800-662-HELP for the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline. Carrying naloxone (Narcan) can help reverse an opioid overdose.
