‘It’s one day at a time’: Maia Campbell celebrates six years of sobriety and growth

The “In The House” and “Trippin” actress has spoken openly about her struggles with addiction and bipolar disorder.

Actress Maia Campbell has seen her struggles and triumphs well-documented over the last several years. On the latest episode of the “85 South Show,” the “In The House” actress revealed she had reached a milestone and how she’s pushing forward.

“I’m six years clean,” Campbell told Karlous Miller & Co around the 27-minute mark of the episode, leading to applause from everyone in the room. “I was doing the most, I was getting lit, I was doing too much.”

She added, “I don’t wanna trigger anyone by saying what I was doing, because I want to be that leader that leads by example and leaves that mark of example. I was smoking more than weed … I was doing too much, something that was given to me that I never should have f-cked with. It left me in a delusional state.”

At one point, her “In The House” co-star LL Cool J attempted to intervene and help his “In The House” co-star by offering to pay for her rehab.

“He was trying to pay $60,000 a month to get me to go to rehab,” she said. “He was trying to call me to get back to L.A. and family members were like, ‘Nah, we got it. We’ll take care of her.’ They wanted to act like they knew what I needed and the love that some people had for me? They wanted to match energy. I just leave it up to God.”

One of Campbell’s inspirations in her journey was a book titled “72 Hour Hold” by her mother, author Bebe Moore Campbell. The novel focuses on a mother who helped raise her daughter, who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and how the Black experience with mental health differs when it comes to hospitals, proper diagnosis, treatment, and more. Years ago, while being spotlighted on an episode of “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” Campbell invited Iyanla Vanzant into the living facility she was staying in at the time to discuss how, at times, her bipolar disorder affected her daily life.

“You’ve seen me at the gas station, you’ve seen me messing up my life with bad choices,” Campbell admitted earlier in the chat with DC Young Fly and Miller. “I was in the element trying to prove to people I was just like them as opposed to being the leader I was supposed to be.”

She delved deeper into her journey, revealing that she was placed in a facility where portions of a manuscript she was working on were eventually published. Campbell’s evolution in Atlanta includes her returning to school at Spelman College to study theater and African-American history.

Watch the full interview with Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly, and more below.