After Cara Delevingne recalled she was drunk at eight years old, addiction experts warn that such early access to alcohol in childhood often leads to long-lasting side effects.
“I was eight, what a crazy age to get drunk,” Ms. Delevingne said. “I used to think drugs and alcohol helped me cope ... but they didn’t, they kept me sad and super depressed. I feel like I’ve got my power back.”
At 10 years old, Ms. Delevingne became a child model for Vogue Italia before becoming a Victoria’s Secret model and subsequently an actress.
The British native co-starred in the hit film “Suicide Squad” in 2016 with Will Smith, Viola Davis, and Margot Robbie.
“Alcohol exposure at a young age may change the reward system of the brain and hence make it more vulnerable to addiction,” Dr. Alison Tarlow, Psy.D., licensed clinical psychologist, told The Epoch Times. “Early drinking is often a part of other risk-taking behaviors such as drug use, unprotected sex, and delinquency.”
Ms. Tarlow is a certified addiction professional at Boca Recovery Center in Florida.
Ms. Delevingne did not respond to requests for comment from The Epoch Times but told Ms. Chamberlain that she was no longer being controlled by other things.
“Cara’s early experience with alcohol speaks to living in a society that is constantly looking to cope,” Nicholas Mathews, founder of Stillwater Behavioral Health, told The Epoch Times. “Anxiety, depression, and PTSD are the true underlying conditions of our culture.”
Stillwater Behavioral Health is an inpatient substance abuse and mental treatment facility in California.
Ms. Delevingne added she mistakenly thought substances would help her deal successfully with life.
“I was happy as a kid for sure, but I think when I grew up, I looked back and realized, ‘That’s not normal,’” Ms. Delevingne said. “And then as a teenager, it just all came plummeting down. That’s also when I started drinking and partying…I was hit with just huge questions: What am I doing here? Who am I trying to be?”
Alcohol is rapidly absorbed through the stomach into the bloodstream, and even small amounts can be harmful to children, according to Dr. Jason Kellogg, a licensed psychiatrist and medical director at Hotel California by the Sea.
Hotel California by the Sea is an accredited drug and alcohol addiction treatment center in Orange County, California.
“The physical, mental, and emotional dangers of drinking alcohol at such a young age cannot be overstated,” Mr. Kellogg told The Epoch Times. “It is critically important to keep children away from alcoholic beverages.”
The minimum legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years old, according to the 1984 Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act. In the United Kingdom, the legal drinking age is 18.
“Cara is from England,” Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Brook Bardin told The Epoch Times. “In some cultures, especially in Europe, there’s more of an acceptance of children drinking at a younger age.”
Ms. Bardin is a clinical director at Victory Starts Now, a treatment program in Los Angeles.
The 31-year-old described the situation with her mother as complex.
“I do think the older I get, the more I see how similar me and my mother are,” Ms. Delevingne said. “She has managed to survive through so much. She’s whip smart. I think there are really beautiful things about my mother and really sad things too.”
Although parents are responsible for their children, Mr. Mathews said they are not infallible.
“Parents are human beings as well,” he said. “It’s a slippery slope to say the parents went wrong. This might have been a supervision issue, but it’s also probably a lack of understanding of what their daughter was experiencing.”
Ms. Delevingne also disclosed to Ms. Chamberlain that she’s been sober for two years. Mr. Mathews warns, however, that recovery from alcohol and drug abuse is more than just no longer drinking alcohol or ingesting illicit substances. He foresees that Ms. Delevingne will have to change her relationship with how she exists in the world and change her relationship with adversity.
“Sobriety builds tremendous character because you start to become uber confident in your ability to walk through anything life throws at you without needing a crutch,” he added. “So, if Cara can stay this course, she’s going to know immeasurable strengths. Emotional intelligence compounds and builds. The longer you do it, the more things you walk through with dignity and integrity, and the more things you don’t escape from, the stronger you become. Sobriety is a truly powerful way of life.”
