Hackett said he was proud of his decision to seek help by entering the US rehab centre in Arizona for “a sleeping disorder”. Hackett fled to the US last month. At the time his father Neville said his son had been the subject of “a family intervention” for what was widely reported as an addiction to the sleeping drug Stilnox.
“I’ve just been exhausted over a long duration and to actually get over here and to have a bit of peace and quiet – to be able to focus on myself and get into a really good head space,” he told Nine News.
“I’ve lived – I guess when you look back on it – quite a stressful life from quite a young age. Emotionally, if you don’t deal with [those issues] – and to be honest, I’m not too good at that – because as an athlete you’re always trying to overcome adversity and the next challenge and it just gets to a situation in life where you’re not coping too well and you need to put your hand up and ask for help.”
He revealed his parents also visited him at the facility where they spoke about “their history” and had a “confronting week”.
Hackett and former wife singer Candice Alley recently finalised their divorce after separating in May.
