Jessica Simpson has shared an unrecognisable photo from the height of her addiction as she marked four years sobriety.

Simpson, 41, posted the picture on Instagram and described it as the 2017 “version” of herself who still needed to beat her addiction to alcohol.

“This person in the early morning of 1 Nov, 2017 is an unrecognizable version of myself. I had so much self discovery to unlock and explore,” she wrote in the caption to the make-up free photo, in which she appeared to be crying.

“I knew in this very moment I would allow myself to take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity.”

Simpson wrote that she knew she needed to quit drinking alcohol because she was “exhausted” by it.

“I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor. I wanted to live as a leader does and break cycles to advance forward- never looking back with regret and remorse over any choice I have made and would make for the rest of my time here within this beautiful world.”

She added that it did not feel like four years of being sober, but “maybe 2”.

“There is so much stigma around the word alcoholism or the label of an alcoholic. The real work that needed to be done in my life was to actually accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self sabotage,” she added.

“The drinking wasn’t the issue. I was. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my own power.

“Today I do. I have made nice with the fears and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my personal power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”

Simpson addressed her addiction in her 2020 memoir Open Book, in which she said her issue was in part caused by trauma surrounding childhood sexual abuse she says began when she was six.

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