Urban speaks about the whys of rehab

Thursday Nov 9 11:32 AEDT
AP - Australian country music star Keith Urban spoke of feeling as if he was
drowning in the days before he entered a rehabilitation centre for alcohol
abuse.
But Urban, who married actor Nicole Kidman in Sydney in June, also advised
people struggling with addiction and sobriety to communicate with the people
in their lives.

The singer was speaking to men's magazine Best Life in the couple's home
town of Nashville, Tennessee, two and a half weeks before he entered rehab
last month.

The Grammy-winning singer, who has publicly acknowledged a former addiction
to cocaine, says his advice for souls at sea is to "stay communicating with
the people around you."

"Everybody gets overwhelmed at points, but it's when you think you can
handle it yourself and you don't reach out for help - that is when the end
is near," Urban says in the magazine.

"Recognise that you are about to tire, that drowning is looming."

He adds: "I've definitely been the drowning guy, and in the midst of
drowning, thought, 'I wonder if I should put my hand up?' ... I'm just
really grateful to be present and doing what I can. And if it overwhelms me,
I speak out and say, 'There is too much going on'."

Urban won male vocalist of the year for the second year in a row at the
Country Music Association Awards in Nashville on Monday night, although he
did not attend the ceremony.

His award was accepted by Ronnie Dunn, who read a letter from Urban in which
he thanked his friends and family and Kidman.

"I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing you all soon," Urban said in
the letter.

His new CD, Love, Pain, & the whole crazy thing, was released this week as
scheduled, but it was announced last month that he would postpone all
upcoming promotional appearances.

Urban won a Grammy this year for best male country vocal performance for
You'll Think of Me.