Audacy’s mental health initiative, I’m Listening, delivers engaging conversations to listeners nationwide through its annual broadcast special and specialty radio programming, on-demand audio on the Audacy app, collaborations with national and local organizations, and more.
Audacy's I’m Listening aims to encourage those who are dealing with mental health issues to understand they are not alone. If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety, know that someone is always there. Additionally, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988. Find a full list of additional resources here.
With Mental Health Awareness Month starting on Wednesday, we're sharing the following statements from rockers, courtesy of Audacy’s I’m Listening.
Chris Daughtry: “For me, the gym is a huge anchor in my life… getting out that physical angst and frustration. I encourage anyone out there to say it out loud. Keeping it in your head is the worst... you just send yourself into a downward spiral of negative self-talk, and that helps nobody, especially you."
More here.
Ian Astbury: "There's absolutely no shame in sharing your experiences. I have, full disclosure, I have spent some time in mental health facilities, as a lot of our community has - and I've also been to several funerals. It's imperative that we have a society and culture that allows individuals to be able to express themselves. But I think we need more facilitators out there…
"EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is amazing, by the way - memory reprocessing. I will say this: psychedelics have been proven to help in micro... with guidance and intention, in the correct environment, can be very, very helpful to change your perspective. It doesn't mean that you're gonna be in an altered experience; it's just much more enhanced. You begin to see there's more to life than the trauma that you've experienced.
"I've been through a lot – violent trauma, sexual trauma, things done to my body that shouldn't be done to bodies, as a child. And I'll talk about that, it gives context to others out there. Anyone suffering, call anybody. If you know the community, go to a meeting. Find a group, go to a meeting. There's a lot of it out there."
More here.
Jacoby Shaddix: “It's like you're just go, go, go, go, go, go continually for seven weeks –- you're just on a schedule, you gotta be somewhere, go somewhere, and then... you come home, and you just kind of pause for a minute. Trying to unravel this madness. It's been a journey for us out there on the road, and meeting so many people at these shows that are just like, ‘Yo, your music saved my life.’ And I'm like, ‘Oh, that's cool.’ You know? And then it just became, over and over and over. I didn't understand the power of music in a sense at that point in time in my life. And as I've grown as a writer, creator, as a man, as a father, this compassionate side of me has come out even more pronounced. It's about serving my brothers and sisters out there -- and we know that people are struggling. So, we were looking for a partner for this song –- a way to make this song a movement.”
“We gotta look out for our people. We gotta check in on our people and see how they're doing because It's easy to just walk by somebody in a hall and be like, 'Hey, how's it going?' But if they're your people, I feel like we've got a responsibility to look after each other. But then also, if you're the person that's struggling, sometimes you're just ashamed... or you just don't wanna open up. That's exactly what we need to do when we're in the struggle. That's the campaign, right? 'Talk Away the Dark.' It's like, talk. As I'm entering into this phase of my life where my boys are going away to college, and they're becoming their own young men –- that letting go, it's hard, you know? As they travel out there into this world, that can be cruel, that can be cold, that can be dark…I want them to know, I need them to know, no matter what's going on, I'm here. I got your back no matter what. Don't be afraid to pick up that phone and just, like, dump it on me."
More here.
Lenny Kravitz: “You know, Prince taught me a really interesting thing… He used to like to play with words, and he said, ‘The word ‘recreation’ is re-creation,' but the way we say the word, we don't think of the words for what they are: Re-creation. So, you got to step away, chill, and then it comes again.”
More here.
Slash: “I try to just not overreact and to be sort of calm and deal with stuff in a fashion that I'm not panicking. I'm not rushing... and it just allows you to have a perspective on things so that you can calm your mind. I'm pretty laid back anyway, but I've always had a hard time with things not moving fast enough. I've learned over the years to slow it down and be able to be patient, and sort of methodically think things through and let things happen... That helps me a lot.”
More here.
Sully Erna: "We try to help people understand it's not always just about the donation that helps, which we always appreciate. It's more about being a part of the community. Because when you're in that dark place, sometimes by going to the community that we built and sharing your stories helps other people share their stories -- and that's where we start to make a dent and identifying who really needs help. We've lost multiple friends to suicide and never even knew that they were on a medication for it, for depression and things like that, until you get the phone call to find out that they're no longer with us."
More here.
For more information, please visit www.ImListening.org.
