Paris Jackson reveals she survived 'quite a few' suicide attempts

Jackson said she first attempted suicide at 15, around four years after the death of her father Michael Jackson

Paris Jackson has opened up about her long-running struggles with mental health and addiction, revealing that she attempted to take her own life “quite a few” times and at one point came “very, very close” to dying.

The singer, 28, discussed her experiences during an emotional interview on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast. Jackson said her first suicide attempt happened when she was 15, around four years after the death of her father, Michael Jackson, and after she had begun experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

Jackson explained that untreated mental illness combined with substance abuse eventually became overwhelming. After her family sought help, she was sent to a treatment facility in Utah on the recommendation of Child Protective Services. She said the experience ultimately contributed to further trauma and PTSD rather than helping her recover.

Her addiction and mental health struggles continued for years. Jackson recalled one particularly serious suicide attempt in which she consumed a bottle of benzodiazepines with vodka. She survived, but described reaching a point where she felt she had nothing left to lose.

Jackson said surviving that attempt eventually became part of her journey towards sobriety. After reaching what she described as “rock bottom” with alcohol, she began working towards recovery and has now been sober for several years.

However, Jackson said suicidal thoughts did not simply disappear once she stopped drinking and using drugs. After five years of sobriety, she found herself struggling with those thoughts again and eventually underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) as part of her efforts to manage her mental health.

Today, Jackson said she relies on what she calls a “spiritual toolkit”, which includes therapy, meditation and prayer. She also described learning to accept both the positive and difficult periods of her life rather than believing that painful emotions mean something is fundamentally wrong.

The singer has spoken openly about her mental health and addiction struggles for years, but her latest conversation offered an especially candid account of how serious those difficulties became during her teenage years and early adulthood.

Jackson said she now recognises that mental health is an ongoing journey rather than something that can simply be permanently fixed. Despite the experiences she has survived, she said she has developed greater faith in her ability to make it through difficult periods.