'Desperate Housewives' Shawn Pyfrom has revealed his battle with drugs and alcohol.

The 27-year-old actor has talked about his battles with addiction in the wake of the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in New York yesterday (02.02.14).

Shawn - who played character MARCIA CROSS' son Andrew Van de Kamp in the TV series - wrote on his Tumblr blog: ''I just read the news about mr. philip seymour hoffman, and against the advise of others; i had to write this open letter. i can't stay quiet anymore about this...

''i am an alcoholic and a drug addict. and yesterday i celebrated five months of sobriety. i'm relatively new to being sober, considering the scope of time that i've been an addict.

''My head is still spinning from the news. i even question whether or not i should publish this, as i type out these words. but if these words can encourage someone to hold on to their life... to keep from ever using, or to find the strength to stop; then it's more important that these words are shared.(sic)''

Shawn didn't say exactly what drugs he had been taking, or for how long, but detailed how it had consumed him.

He wrote: ''for several years, i lived for drugs. i lived for other things as well. but drugs dictated the other things i lived for. i thought more about using, than i thought about any other ''pleasures''. i put myself in places i never would have ended up, otherwise, for the sake of getting high. there are countless nights of blacking out, and making poor decisions as a result of my overusing. (sic)''

Shawn added he has felt much better since giving up his vices and now he ''wake[s] up looking forward to my days, rather than looking for a way to get through them.''