2016 was an important year for musicians and mental health: arguably the most famous musician in the world, Kanye West, sought treatment for mental illness, the biggest ever study of its kind found that 71 percent of musicians suffer from panic attacks and anxiety, and some prominent figures, such as Kid Cudi, spoke up about their experiences with mental illness.
So it’s good to know that this positive trend of openness has continued into 2017 – recently musicians as diverse as Stormzy and Billy Corgan have talked about their experiences, specifically with depression.
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In an interview with Channel 4 News, Stormzy addressed the condition, which he also discusses on his new album Gang Signs & Prayer. “For me it was like a realisation of how fragile we are as humans,” he said. “I always saw myself as this strong person who just deals with life. I get on with it, and if something gets me low, I pick myself back up… That’s always been my philosophy.” However, once he experienced depression for himself, he was convinced to discuss openly it in his music to help others: “if there’s anyone out there going through it, I think for them to see that I went through it, would help.”
Similarly, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins recently appeared on the podcast “Why Not Now” hosted by Amy Jo Martin. He told her that after the release of the band’s first album Gish in 1991, he quickly felt overshadowed by grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. He said, “Everything I had built myself up to be and do was no longer as relevant as it needed to be. I went into a very strange depression because I felt like something had been not taken, but the change made me feel kind of inadequate in a way I wasn’t prepared for.” Corgan’s statement, therefore, is an important one in terms of the specific pressures of the music industry and how they can cause mental health issues.
Corgan’s spoken to the press about his mental health before, but in the years since he discussed his depression we’ve all started to make progress on approaching mental health with the same care as physical health. It’s crucial that musicians, especially those like Stormzy and Corgan with extensive platforms, continue to talk about these issues when they feel able to. It contributes to the lessening of stigma and the normalisation of discussing mental health: here’s hoping that others follow their lead.
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(Image by Jordan Cameron via Flickr)
