Brad Pitt says he can drink in ‘restrained manner’ after 7 sober years, but expert raises red flag

After seven years of sobriety, Brad Pitt has revealed that he resumed drinking alcohol in moderation — an approach that has raised concerns among some addiction experts.

In an Esquire interview published on Aug.

10, the actor said, "I was sober for seven years.

And then I got back off the wagon." Pitt shared that he now drinks "in a more restrained manner," saying that he doesn’t consume "big quantities" of alcohol.

BRAD PITT ADMITS HE BEGAN DRINKING AGAIN AFTER YEARS OF SOBRIETY "I got overconfident a couple times, went, ‘Yep, nope, not good for me,’" he acknowledged.

"I have to be professional about it." Pitt once spoke about his sobriety in a 2019 New York Times interview, disclosing that he’d spent 18 months in Alcoholics Anonymous.

"I had taken things as far as I could take it, so I removed my drinking privileges," he said.

BEER, WINE OR LIQUOR? MASSIVE STUDY REVEALS WHICH WAS LINKED TO LOWER DEATH RISK Jessica Steinman, a Los Angeles addiction specialist and chief clinical officer for No Matter What Recovery, generally advises against people returning to alcohol after a problematic relationship with it, warning that "testing the waters" can potentially be "dangerous." The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) defines alcohol use disorder (AUD) as an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational or health consequences.

The condition can range from mild to severe.

"There are people who struggle with substances and take a very large break, have a long period of sobriety and recovery, and they may choose to integrate it back into their lives," Steinman, who was not diagnosing Pitt with AUD, told Fox News Digital.

"As an addiction professional, as someone who's been in this field for a very long time, I don’t see a whole lot of success with that." CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER Although some people do successfully return to substances after needing to stop, Steinman considers them "anomalies and exceptions to the rule." "People think, ‘Oh, I've gone this long.

I think I'm going to be able to manage it – I have the skills now.

I have tools,’" she said.

Addiction can alter the brain’s reward system , she said, making it highly responsive to the dopamine release associated with drinking or substance use.