“Anxiety, lack of confidence and self-love were issues holding me back from sharing my voice.”
Award-winning singer/songwriter, Adrian Eagle, shares his journey:
My personal mental health has always been a journey of lessons and self-realisations that affected me before I started in the music industry.
When asked, I am always happy to share with others in the music industry. Wellbeing for artists and professionals in the music industry gets overlooked and not mentioned nearly enough, so I’m very grateful platforms like this and Support Act exist for young creatives out there.
My journey to music was a lot later than others. I didn’t release my first song into the world until I was 26 years old. My mental health problems – anxiety, lack of confidence and self-love were issues holding me back from sharing my voice, although I’m a firm believer that everything happens at the right time and exactly when it’s meant to for our growth and learning.
Fear was the biggest obstacle in my way from an early age. If you had asked me to sing in front of people at the age of 17, I would have been absolutely terrified. To sing in front of thousands of people at festivals confidently now feels exhilarating and it’s a blessing I can never ever take for granted.
Depression was what I saw from a young age, along with conflict, stress-riddled parents and abusive tendencies. Self-care was definitely not a “thing” in our house. As an adult I have definitely learned to adopt a lot of tools that have helped me on the journey.
Our minds are so powerful. On the battlefield of the mind, tools and weapons such as gratitude, compassion and positivity really help deal with the duality of life’s ups and downs. If I could talk to my younger self who was battling with severe anxiety I would try to encourage them to embrace their unique self . We all have our own voice and all art is subjective.
I hope that my lived experience can help those accessing this resource at the exact time that they need to hear it. Life gets better after those teen years, keep on going and keep on following your vision to the upmost. Creation is sometimes the best thing for our mental health. Expressing our struggles and finding solutions to our problems is a great way to combat our negative thinking traits. Remaining as thankful and grateful as we possibly can.
Sending love to everyone on their journey. We’re all on a collective journey together here on earth. So happy to be apart of this beautiful community.
