As September, the National Suicide Prevention Month, nears a close, it is no secret that mental health is a serious ongoing issue across America, and specifically within the music and entertainment industry. According to a study by Dianna Kenny, a professor of psychology at the University of Sydney, pop stars have a life expectancy “up to 25 years shorter than the comparable US population” per decade since 1950, and have suicicide rates “between two and seven times greater.” This is largely due to the rampant abuse of drug and alcohol among popular musicians as a result of unattended mental health issues.
Photo Credit: Rahim Fortune
This is nothing new; mental health problems among artists have been an issue far before the 1950s where Kenny’s study begins. The issue has only increased with the commercialization of the music industry, the growth of record labels, and the increasing idolization of artists. Popular artists’ lives have been fantasized and romanticized, leaving no room for them to be real, normal people with real and normal issues. In short, the entertainment industry does not provide the proper mental healthcare for the stars who make the industry big shots their money.
Of course, the issue of mental health affects everyone, but not everyone has the unique and extensive reach and influence of popular artists. So when these superstars are taught to suppress their struggles and are expected to live the fast paced, high profile lifestyle they are often forced into without addressing their own mental health, not only does it put their own safety at risk, it prevents them from helping others in the general American public who experience similar issues. This vicious cycle continues to glorify the unhealthy “rockstar lifestyle” to the general American public, and prevents them from seeing these superstars as regular people who experience the same feelings and day to day human emotions as they do.
Photo Credit: Ryan Pfluger
In attempt to amend this disconnect in the entertainment industry, and specifically to raise awareness to Suicide Prevention Month, the Sounds of Saving organization alongside the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have launched their “Songs that Found Me at the Right Time” series. In this, rising musicians share stories and perform songs that connected with them at a low point in their life. The first episode (video above) features singer/songwriter/producer, KeiyaA, discussing and performing Jazmine Sullivan’s “Silver Lining,” bringing to light mental health struggles and suicidal thoughts that she experienced in her life while the second installment (video below) features Sharon Van Etten preforming her take on Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt,” alongside her discussion of mental health.
Sounds of Saving promotes open and honest conversation about mental health, trying to fight against the societal tendency to suppress these issues. We have seen it time and time again with musicians and artists who hide their own mental health issues behind the superstar facade, driving them into spirals of depression, alcoholism, and drug abuse, many times leading to suicide or overdose. In allowing musicians and artists the space to talk about their own mental health, they can simultaneously get the help they need to live a healthy life, and show the millions of Americans suffering from anxiety, depression, and other mental illnesses that there is always somewhere to turn, there is always someone to talk to, and that help is always there. We all have moments of weakness, we all have periods of darkness, but we all must know that we can always push through, and we never have to do it alone.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to connect with a trained counselor. The service is free, 24/7, confidential, and available across the United States.
Sources:
Kenny, Dianna T. (2014, October 26). Stairway to Hell: Life and Death in the Pop Music Industry. The Conversation. theconversation.com/stairway-to-hell-life-and-death-in-the-pop-music-industry-32735