Kim Richards: How 'RHOBH' Helped My Sobriety

"It just felt wonderful, very important" she says of sharing her struggle with fans.

By Hilary Hughes Feb 4, 2014, 3:24 PM ET

When the party scene of Beverly Hills is overflowing with champagne and rosé, living a sober life can be quite a difficult challenge—but not for Kim Richards. If anything, starring on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills has helped Kim get on track with her sobriety and regain control of her life, and she recently opened up about how filming the show helped.

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"I think it's important to love your job, to enjoy the people you work with—most of the time!" she tells Dr. Sophy, the Medical Director of the LA County Department of Children and Family Services, on the latest episode of his podcast, House Call with Dr. Sophy. "When I'm not working, I don't feel good. I don't feel...I'm not needed. I need that responsibility. It definitely makes a difference when you love what you're doing and you like the people you're working with. I like my producers, I like my crew, I like the girls...most of the time."

After completing treatment, Kim says those first few months were hard. And she struggled over whether to make her sobriety public. "I came home in the first month or two [from treatment] and it was kind of quiet, because we weren't back in season yet...I was going stir-crazy. I did need that to get out, and go, and feel needed and important."

But once the cameras were turned on, Kim admits that choosing to make her struggle public was a good one. "My decision to go back to work and live my sobriety out in the public, and live it out on [RHOBH]...the feeling of getting to go to work, and feeling important, that they needed me, it felt so healthy and good to get back out there. It just felt wonderful. Very important."

We applaud Kim for sharing her journey and working to overcome such intense challenges. What do you think of Kim's story? Let us know in the comments.