Miley Cyrus says she’s been living a sober lifestyle for a year, but has been truly sober for six months after major surgery to her vocal cords.

The pop and sometimes country singer (and daughter to Billy Ray Cyrus) shares that she first chose to get sober because of the surgery, but since then (November), she started to look at how she viewed life and how her genes play a role in her choices. The 27-year-old spoke with Variety’s The Big Ticket podcast and told host Marc Malkin she felt she had inherited some of the feelings of abandonment that her mother had. Her mother was adopted.

“I did a lot of family history, which has a lot of addiction and mental health challenges,” she shares, referring also to her father’s side of the family. "So just going through that and asking, ‘Why am I the way that I am?’ By understanding the past, we understand the present and the future much more clearly. I think therapy is great."

Previously Cyrus had admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. She didn't detail any other drugs or controlled substances during this conversation.

Cyrus' vocal surgery was a result of overuse, she says, adding that she talks a lot, and that didn’t help. On being young and sober, Cyrus says it has been difficult. "There’s that stigma of 'You’re no fun.’ It’s like, honey, you can call me a lot of things, but I know that I’m fun. The thing that I love about it is waking up 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. I don't want to wake up feeling groggy. I want to wake up feeling ready."

The revelation comes during a turbulent, but not fruitless year for the singer. She and husband Liam Hemsworth split last August after one year of marriage, but Cyrus' role in the Netflix series Black Mirror is being lauded.

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