Kelly Osbourne has blamed DNA for her addiction.

The Dancing With the Stars contestant—whose father, rocker Ozzy Osbourne, has had a long-running battle with drugs and alcohol—believes that her dependence on prescription drugs is something hardwired into her genes.

Kelly, who is now drug free, told Britain’s BBC Radio 5 Live, “I don’t have any shadow of a doubt that addiction is a disease. It is in your genes. The only people in my family who don’t have that gene are my mother and my sister Amy. I consider myself lucky that I saw both sides of it. Drugs stop you from screaming on the outside, but you are still screaming on the inside. I was addicted by 16. Drugs stopped me from feeling a certain way. Some people experience euphoria, but I never felt that. They numbed me and gave me confidence. It was like a magic medicine.”

Kelly—who has been in rehab four times, most recently in January—admits that she became a recluse during her lowest points of addiction.

“I was plagued by feelings of misery and self-loathing. When I was taking drugs I didn’t shower or even brush my teeth. I just sat in my room on my own. I never admitted I was an addict. When I went to rehab it was like a college. We were taken to conference rooms and someone would explain about all different types of drugs and what they do to you. It made me think, ‘Why am I messing my life up?’ The only thing wrong with my life was me. I had two choices—keep taking drugs and die or I can stop.”

Kelly empathizes with her close friend Amy Winehouse who has also battled drug and alcohol problems: “I have known Amy for a really long time. Because of what has happened to me it is easier for me to see through the b.s. Amy is a really special and talented person. It is hard to be a woman in this industry.”