Why Drew Barrymore Says Her Younger Self 'Wouldn't Have Listened' to Her Advice Now

In an interview with PEOPLE at the 26th Annual Webby Awards, the actress — who has described herself as being a reckless child — shared what she would tell her younger self now if given the chance.

"She wouldn't have listened," Barrymore, 47, said, adding that she now has "better advice" for herself now. "I like trying to tell myself to please react with grace. Be on the high road. Don't flip out about everything. Find calm, find peace."

"Those are things I wish I could've told myself when I was a kid, but I would've never thought those things were possible, nor did I really want them at that time. Now I want them," she shared.

"I wanted wild, rebellious fun," the talk show host added.

Over the years, Barrymore has detailed her battles with substance abuse and addiction that she struggled with as a child star.

During an appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" in February 2021, the "Never Been Kissed" actress shared that her reckless behavior as a child star caused her to be institutionalized when she was 13.

"I was going to clubs and not going to school and stealing my mom's car and I was out of control," she recalled. "So sometimes it was as humorous as that and sometimes I was just so angry that I would go off and then I'd get thrown in the thing."

Barrymore explained that "the thing" was a "full psychiatric ward" where she stayed for 18 months. But it was not a luxury rehab facility, according to the star.

"I used to laugh at those Malibu 30-day places," she said. "Malibu was sort of the opposite of the experience I had. I was in a place for a year and a half called Van Nuys Psychiatric. And you couldn’t mess around in there and if you did, you would get thrown either in a padded room or get put in stretcher restraints, and tied up."

Meanwhile, last December, the "Charlie's Angels" star revealed she's been sober from alcohol for two and a half years.