If I were to ask how many of my friend in creative fields suffer from any form of mental illness, I would get a resounding “all of us”. It’s common knowledge that many of the greatest artists in the world suffered from mental illness ranging from depression, anxiety, bipolar, and more. Many people believe that their best art, be it paintings or music, come from the darkest areas of their brain. I wanted to write this piece to start an open discussion on mental illness in art and to find comfort in knowing we are not alone.

I, bass player Britt, suffer from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. These will be the topics I’ll cover in my posts as I cannot speak for those with other mental illnesses. If you’ve read my other posts, you know I come from a history of domestic violence, which in turn led to my PTSD and worsening of the depression and anxiety. Over time, the PTSD has lessened but I had found myself getting into what I call an anxiety spiral. I would be totally fine one minute, but when something such as having less money than I thought or not being able to handle a problem right there would come up, I’d start going through all the worse case scenarios. Usually I’d be talking to my boyfriend, Jeremy, or my sister, and I’d start to list out every bad thing that is going to happen. I would usually get emotionally upset, on the verge of tears or crying, and start telling them that they hate me, I’m awful, I’m a horrible and irresponsible person.

This is an unhealthy response but very, very common. I cannot stress enough how many people go through these spirals every day. There are many tricks for anxiety. One way is to focus on objects around you and say them to yourself. For example: there’s a blue car, there’s a tree, there’s a kid playing with a ball, etc…, as a way to distract your brain and get yourself out of the cycle. Other forms of help include meditation, yoga, exercise, and more.

For me, I combine yoga with taking medication. I have been on Lexapro for half a year now. I’m by no means advocating medication, as it does not work for everyone, isn’t safe for everyone, and is something you should speak to your doctor about. I just want to open communication channels for those on medication. It is OKAY to ask for help and to take medication to help your mental well being. I have noticed a huge increase in my overall happiness, calmness, and balanced state of mind. Does it work 100% of the time? No. But my spirals are less daunting to get through and I find it easier to let things be until I do have the ability to fix problems.

So, what I’m asking of you, is to leave a comment below on how mental illness has affected your art and being in the creative field. Let’s start the discussion and break down the preconceived notions of shame associated with mental illness.