Lindsay Lohan talked about her first stay in rehab in an interview that Elle magazine says took place only 36 hours before her drunken driving arrest over Memorial Day weekend. “I was growing up and going out a lot, and I needed to have a balance,” Lindsay tells the magazine of her stay at the Wonderland Center in Los Angeles in January.

“I was glad I went, because I needed to get away from everyone and I didn’t know how to do that. And I learned a lot there. A bunch of my friends, I was with them last night, they’re in AA for, like, years.”

Recall that Lindsay Lohan was arrested on May 26 on suspicion of driving under the influence after crashing her car into a curb on Sunset Boulevard. She entered the Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility and was released on July 13, after a stay of more than six weeks. Then, on July 24, the 21-year-old actress was arrested in Santa Monica for investigation of drunken driving and cocaine possession.

The September issue of Elle, which features Lindsay Lohan on the cover, hits newsstands nationwide August 14.