"I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck"
About this Quote
The phrasing also hints at how fame rewires self-perception. Haim grew up in an industry that rewards performance while neglecting stability, where a child star’s distress can be managed, not healed. The quote’s bluntness reads like someone who’s been rehearsing honesty after years of being packaged. “Started on” is especially chilling: it suggests a regimen, an initiation, almost a career path. Addiction isn’t framed as a single bad decision; it’s a sequence that begins the moment sedation becomes the only workable form of calm.
Context matters because Haim’s story has been relentlessly narrated by others - tabloids, managers, the nostalgia machine that keeps ‘80s icons frozen at their peak. Here, he asserts a bleak agency: he chose what worked, short-term. The subtext is that no one offered a better option, and the body will always take the nearest exit from fear, even if it leads straight into another kind of wreckage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Anxiety |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Haim, Corey. (2026, January 17). I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-on-the-downers-which-were-a-hell-of-a-47613/
Chicago Style
Haim, Corey. "I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-on-the-downers-which-were-a-hell-of-a-47613/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-started-on-the-downers-which-were-a-hell-of-a-47613/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







