"I didn’t love myself, I didn’t respect my own power. Today I do."

Jessica Simpson has celebrated four years of sobriety by sharing an "unrecognisable" throwback photo from the day she quit drinking. The Dukes of Hazzard actress shared an image of herself from the morning of 1 November 2017 to her 5.6 million followers, saying that her past struggle with alcohol had affected her mental health and left her "exhausted". https://www.instagram.com/p/CVvfEL1rRIV/?utm_source=ig_embed "I had so much self discovery to unlock and explore," she wrote underneath. "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. "Personally, to do this I needed to stop drinking alcohol because it kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction and quite honestly I was exhausted. 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." Jessica said she couldn't believe it had been four years since her last drink and that it felt more like two, before going on to talk about the shame that surrounds being an alcoholic. "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. 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." Jessica previously opened up about the abuse she suffered as a child and her subsequent struggle with alcohol abuse in later life. Her memoir, Open Book, which was released last year, provides an insight into her experiences.