In a candid post that was at times heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational, a brave Young & Restless alum took to social media to bare his soul on a most difficult and personal topic — battling addiction — and vowed to pay it forward after getting help in rehab.
Abhi Sinha appeared on Young & Restless from 2016-2018 as Ravi Shapur, a computer techie and software designer who went to work for Jabot. The character was a hit with fans, especially when Ravi, who had a crush on Ashley, became her younger lover. Numerous attempts were made to lure Ravi to other companies — Phyllis tried to entice him to come and work for Fenmore’s and Victoria wanted to make him head of software develpment at Newman. Ravi stayed loyal to Ashley, however, until they broke up, at which point he accepted Victoria’s offer.
In addition to dating Ashley, Ravi dallied with both Phyllis and Hilary, who was looking for a man to have a baby with at the time. Ravi wasn’t interested in becoming a dad, so they parted ways. Throughout his tenure, Sinha shared scenes with Young & Restless heavyweights such as Peter Bergman (Jack), Eileen Davidson (Ashley), Judith Chapman (Gloria), Tracey Bregman (Lauren), Gina Tognoni (then Phyllis), Amelia Heinle (Victoria), Mishael Morgan (Hilary), and Marla Adams (Dina) before the character was abruptly written off after helping to restore the contents of a flash drive that had been burned.
In Sinha’s candid post, which begins with the reveal that he entered rehab on July 10, 2023 and includes the declaration, “I am an addict,” he references what may be his sudden departure from Young & Restless as one of the painful life events that he believes led him down the path to addiction. He explained, “I can’t pinpoint an exact incident, time and date when I started to spiral out of control, but starting with my parents separation in 2013 to the end of a 7 year relationship during the pandemic, many triggering events occurred in between: One of my best friends ODd; I had to put down my beloved dog before he turned 3; A couple months later, my other dog was shot & killed; I lost a job I loved and was really good at. I was written off unceremoniously, and without explanation.”
Sinha described his slide into full-blown addiction: “What started out as occasional weed use, some hard drug experimenting and social drinking, eventually turned into an uncontrollable addiction. An addiction that was not only expensive financially, but cost more than just money.”
The actor admitted he would “would start drinking early in the day” and that the downward spiral eventually “resulted in fractured relationships with the most important people in my life, in lost opportunities, in self-hatred, in low self-esteem, in imposter syndrome and in a series of toxic relationships,” and noting, ” It would have eventually cost me my life. “
We couldn’t be happier to report that at the time of his post, Sinha was 91 days sober after spending time at a “facility that focused on not only addiction, but mental health as well,” noting that “addiction is a symptom of deeper mental health issues that need to be addressed.”
Sinha reported that he has “an incredible support system. Friends who have become family. Family whose trust I have regained,” and enthused, “For the first time in my life, I’m living in gratitude every day. I can’t remember the last time I was this happy. I am focusing on finding my ‘Ikigai’.” Ikigai, of course, is the Japanese concept of finding your reason for being or your purpose in life.
Not only is Sinha working on his own recovery, but he is determined to pay it forward and added a comment to his Instagram post asking, “If you or anyone you know is suffering from addiction, please reach out to me. I am committed to paying it forward. There are programs/ people who are available and want to help. You should never feel alone or hopeless.”
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All of us at SOAPS wish Abhi Sinha the very best moving forward and thank him for his brave choice to speak out on his struggle with addiction so that others will not feel alone. So inspiring.
If you or someone you know is battling addiction, help can be found by calling the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) hotline in the USA at 1-800-662-4357 or Wellness Together in Canada at 1-866-585-0445.
