Mental health needs a great deal of attention. It's the final taboo and it needs to be faced and dealt with.
Mental health isn't all of me, but it's a massive part of my journey and a massive part of my whole being.
No one had ever educated me on mental health. I really didn't understand why I would be feeling high on life, and everything was brilliant, and then suddenly I would be crashing into a deep hole.
I'm at the point in my life where I don't want to work as hard. Actually, I've had to take a good hard look at workaholism and it's effect on one's mental health.
I'm a big proponent of having a mental health component go along with whatever the physical realities are.
I know that when it comes to your friends, especially in the music industry, we work so much and do so much that we don't even really keep track of our days, or keep track of our health, or keep track of our mental health. Sometimes we just go astray.
You certainly can't prevent all mental health problems - factors like genetics and traumatic life events certainly play a role. But everyone can take steps to improve their mental health and prevent further mental illness.
Mental strength is not the same as mental health. Just like someone with diabetes could still be physically strong, someone with depression can still be mentally strong. Many people with mental health issues are incredibly mentally strong. Anyone can make choices to build mental strength, regardless of whether they have a mental health issue.
Mental health is a continuum, and people may fall anywhere on the spectrum.
By incarcerating someone who is homeless or addicted or who suffers from mental health challenges, we only further destabilize that person and create situations where they are more likely to commit crimes in the future.
