Actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt has stayed away from alcohol since 2016, the 51-year-old shared in a social media post celebrating her sobriety on Saturday.

Sharing pictures of herself alongside the post, the Bombay Begum actress talked about her journey and the need to inspire other people facing the same problem.

“When the going gets tough, the tough surrender Seven years sober today. Gratitude, humility, grace! To those who need to hear this – you are not alone and if I could do it, so can you,”

Pooja wrote along with hashtags like “sobriety rocks”, “sober life”, “end the stigma”, “end the shame” and “recovery is beautiful”.

Earlier this year, Pooja had opened up about her addiction on the Salman Khan-hosted reality show Bigg Boss OTT 2. She had candidly shared her struggles and triumph over alcoholism, a battle she confronted at the age of 44.

On the show, the actress had also emphasised the importance of breaking the stigma around addiction, particularly for women.

“Society gives a licence to men, and thus they can openly speak about being addicted and recovering from alcoholism. However, women don't openly drink, and so they don't openly recover.”