Home and Away star Emily Weir has opened up about her sobriety journey, revealing she has now been alcohol-free for eight years after quitting drinking in 2018.The actress, 34, told this week’s Stellar magazine that she turned to alcohol to cope with crippling anxiety before making the life-changing decision to stop drinking.Emily said she has continued to prioritise her sobriety with the help of a 12-step program, which she joined four years ago.’Sometimes things have to break in order to be rebuilt,’ she said.’These ideas we have about ourselves – and what a woman should be and how an actress should be – these are old, old ideas. They have to break in order to birth something new.’The actress also reflected on changing attitudes towards alcohol since giving up drinking, saying the rise of the ‘sober curious’ movement has helped reduce the stigma surrounding addiction and mental health. Home and Away star Emily Weir has opened up about her sobriety journey, revealing she has now been alcohol-free for eight years after quitting drinking in 2018’We’re more aware of mental illness… there seems to be less shame,’ she said.’I’m a big believer that silence, in regard to addiction and mental health, is something that fuels it. When you can talk about it and be honest and vulnerable about it, there’s healing in that.’While she acknowledges not everyone feels comfortable discussing their struggles, Weir said she hopes sharing her own experience can encourage others.’I feel comfortable in sharing it, not to flaunt it, but to give hope that you can live a really amazing life on the other side of anything,’ she said.About six months after giving up alcohol, Emily landed the role of Mackenzie Booth on Home and Away, joining the long-running soap in 2019.Since then, her character has been at the centre of several emotional storylines, including infertility and pregnancy loss.Emily said she was drawn to the show’s willingness to tackle difficult issues, adding that conversations around fertility remain taboo for many families.’I don’t think we’re fully out of the woods with that, especially where a lot of our show reaches,’ she said. The actress, 34, told this week’s Stellar magazine that she turned to alcohol to cope with crippling anxiety before making the life-changing decision to stop drinking Emily said she has continued to prioritise her sobriety with the help of a 12-step program, which she joined four years agoAlthough she is not a parent herself, the actress said the storyline resonated because several women close to her have experienced IVF and fertility struggles.’Many women in my circle have had to go through IVF, the loss of fallopian tubes or an array of fertility issues. I’ve been present in that experience with them over the years,’ she said.Elsewhere in the interview, Emily spoke about the importance of surrounding herself with authentic people and credited several older female colleagues for helping shape both her career and outlook on life.The Brisbane-raised actress admitted she almost gave up acting as a teenager because she believed ‘being a theatre kid wasn’t cool’.After travelling overseas following school, she eventually returned home and pursued acting, later fulfilling a childhood dream by joining Home and Away.Reflecting on the lessons she has learnt over the years, Emily said she is no longer a people-pleaser and hopes to encourage other women to embrace boundaries and authenticity.’It’s important to break this idea of perfectionism,’ she said.’It’s about having agency and autonomy. Those things are possible when people get authentic.’The pain of Emily’s parents’ divorce when she was in her early 20s saw her turn to alcohol as a coping mechanism, but she managed to quit prior to being cast in Home and Away in 2019.