Ivan Moody Speaks To The Struggles Of Staying Sober During The Pandemic-Related Lockdown

Sven Mandel, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Among the many who found themselves struggling over the course of the pandemic-related lockdown, Five Finger Death Punch singer Ivan Moody found himself battling some demons.

During a conversation with Lazer 103.3, Moody spoke to how the hardest part for him “was staying sober” – during the time of the pandemic lockdown orders. He spoke to a lot of stuff he was reading about taking place over the course of that time, and how he grounded himself and stayed away from drinking.

At one point in the interview, Ivan is asked if he found the break – regarding the lockdown and not being able to tour – to be a positive thing, or a challenge (considering his difficulties with alcoholism). This is what Ivan Moody had to say:

“I would have to go with the latter on that one. No, I won’t even say that. It was a little bit of both. The hardest part for me was being sober. There was a lot of day drinking going on during COVID, and I’d read a lot of articles – a lot of domestic violence disputes — a lot of just unnecessary stuff. And I think it brought out the worst and unfortunately some of the best in people, or fortunately, for that matter. Myself, I had a really hard time, ’cause I have this diabolical voice that sits in the back of me, always trying to convince me that I’ve been sober long enough, I’ve been good long enough, and so what’s it really gonna damage if I wanted to turn the page and do something radical and bad again?

“So, for me it was really finding a medium, finding out what was gonna keep me on the straight and narrow, I guess you’d say. And once again, whether it had been my kids, once again music stood up for me, because beyond my kids and my family there was really nothing to grab on to.

“We’re fortunate enough that we play music for a living, but in the same token we have to sit by and watch all these hard-working, blue-collar people lose their jobs, go through what they went through, whether it be the grocery store rioting or collecting toilet paper or just figuring out employment. It was an eye opener for everybody, and it’s something that Zo and I have talked about a few times. This wasn’t just something that was quarantined — no pun intended — to one area. This is the first time, really, in history that the entire world was affected by something. Even World War II was segmented; there were parts of the world involved — it wasn’t necessarily the world.

“However, when it came to the pandemic, every single human being on this planet was affected. So, for me, utilizing that energy and digging into what other people were saying and feeling and filtering it and putting it back through my platform is not only a gift but in the same token necessary. So it was tough, man. I know this is a long winded answer – but it was very difficult. But at other times I was very grateful for the tools I’ve been given and the strength that I have to help me get through it, much less help other people.”

Considering his personal journey quitting alcohol, Ivan has made incredible efforts to address and take care of his health. You can check out the whole conversation featuring Ivan Moody below.

FFDP’s Ivan Moody Says Rob Halford Reached Out To Provide Him Emotional Support While Moody Worked To Become Sober

‘It won’t ever be done with my name on it again’: Ivan Moody Is Not Cool With The Anti-Mask Sentiment In FFDP Video

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