This is a common misconception about antidepressants: many people believe they're simply 'happy pills' that will wipe a person's emotional slate clean. Used correctly, antidepressants can lift the fog of mental illness.
I've had a mental illness for nearly half my life, and I can no longer imagine myself without it. It seems less like something that happened to me than like part of who I am; some days, it is the thing about me, but it is always at least a thing about me.
The guilt I felt for having a mental illness was horrible. I prayed for a broken bone that would heal in six weeks. But that never happened. I was cursed with an illness that nobody could see and nobody knew much about.
As no one knew much about my mental illness, a lot of people had the attitude that I had the capability to 'kick it' and get better instantly. This was the most frustrating attitude for me.
People accuse me of glamorizing mental illness. Looking back sometimes, that's true. But I don't feel guilty.
When our bodies are sick and people extend their sympathy, bring us soup, offer up solutions. When our minds are sick, people tend to shy away from you, be afraid, or call you outright crazy. I'm fascinated by the way society and individuals view mental illness, and most of my shorts comment on that.
I want to show that the dividing lines between sanity and mental illness have been drawn in the wrong place.
Mental illness doesn't need to be hidden or glorified. It should be normalized to where people feel comfortable sharing with their families and friends and know they're not alone. By opening up about my struggle, I'm hoping I can help someone who feels like they don't know what to do or when they can't accept their situation.
I should be writing songs about happiness all day long, but a lot of my songs get inspired from that place of unworthiness and shame, which really goes with mental illness.
Mental illness and depression are the reason why I no longer have a father.
