Kristen Johnston spoke about her drug use and how it felt like an "abusive relationship" at the time. The 53-year-old actress appeared on Elizabeth Vargas' podcast "Heart of the Matter" on Tuesday, where she discussed how her popularity from the iconic sitcom "3rd Rock From the Sun" contributed to her addiction.

"It was like an on-again relationship for four years," Johnston revealed, "and it only became really bad after 3rd Rock."

The actress also shared how the fame she gained from the sitcom, which aired from 1996 to 2001, 'overwhelmed' her.

"I was able to keep a lid on it for a couple of years," she said, "and then we became married, me and my opiates, a couple of years after 3rd Rock, and it was a very, very abusive relationship," she told the PEOPLE.

The actress said that while the work was enjoyable, all that came with it terrified her, and she didn't know until later that she had been living in "a state of absolute panic for 10 years."

"Ugh, I'm going to be found out. I'm being chased by the paparazzi. They're going through my garbage. They're going to write crap about it. My mom's going to see."

The actress told Page Six she was admitted to the hospital with an ulcer on New Year's Eve. The event, she claims, was the catalyst for her realization that her habit needed to be broken.

"I saw all these fireworks, and everyone was outside at the Eye," she recalled. I could see the London Eye from my hospital bed, and it just occurred to me that there are people standing there watching that outside."