Coming off the heels of a very public mental health scare from After The Burial's Justin Lowe, Help Musicians UK has conducted a study. The study looks at musicians across all genres and seeks to figure out how many of them suffer from mental health issues. That means any issues- depression, paranoia, etc.
The study found that over 60-percent of musicians have suffered from depression or other psychological issues, while 71-percent of those asked say that touring is a major factor in their mental health issues.
One anonymous musician told The Guardian he feels guilty about his issue because he chose the path he's on.
“I feel guilty asking for help with something I should be able to deal with given the issues in question are part and parcel of the career path I’ve chosen.”
While everyone chooses their path, nobody wants to suffer. Nobody should feel guilty about asking for help either! Seriously, if you're a musician and you feel like this, I'm personally asking you to reach out to someone and talk about it. Nobody deserves to feel that way.
Artist Willis Earl Beal gave a really unique perspective on how touring fucked with him.
“Touring can be destructive on a musician, it was destructive on me, that’s for sure. I’d come home from tour, and I’m back to feeding the cat. My wife at the time – I don’t have a wife now – worked 12-hour shifts , so I was cooking the dinner all that sort of shit. There was a lot of tension, because I’m thinking to myself, ‘I don’t deserve this, I’m a big star’ and that was one of the contributing factors in ending my marriage. This fucking career, the striving towards something that never existed and doesn’t exist.”
While producer Mat Zo explained why he feels the way he feels on tour.
“Ninety-nine per cent of touring is the airports, the hotels, sitting in a metal tube for up to 16 hours at a time. It’s easy to let your mind and body slip into decay, even for a person with a healthy emotional state. For those with anxiety, hotel rooms are like prison cells.”
Seriously, if you feel like touring is wearing you down, or even if you just feel weird and not right, talk to someone. There's no shame in asking for help!
