Artist manager, Rebecca Dickson, offers some encouragement to people battling mental health in the music industry and addresses the pressure to appear okay in a social media hungry generation. Published with permission of the author.
I want to send a reminder to anyone who may need it (myself included), that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes. Social media and society can really pressure people into feeling like there are limits on how long you’re supposed to take to process and heal from things. I wanted to share a photo of myself where I’m smiling and looking happy, but internally I’m dealing with many things.
Half of the people on Beyoncé’s internet post things and we can only take them at face value and make assumptions. Some, if not most of us, compare ourselves―where we should be and where we’re not. It’s easy to get caught up in comparison.
I’m speaking from experience, particularly with the industry I work in―the music industry. It’s easy to feel like if you take a step back to listen to your body and prioritize yourself, you’ll lose your spot or miss out on once in a lifetime opportunities, or even let down the people who depend on you the most. And if not that, you may just feel like people will see you as weak. As someone who is very in tune with themselves emotionally, I spent the better half of my 20’s trying to keep it tuck because I didn’t want to be labelled as weak when, in fact, it’s the complete opposite. You’re stronger than most who bottle in their struggles.
Life is challenging. Obstacles come from every angle. Someone always has it worse or better than us. So often we convince ourselves not to feel down and out about something because it’s not as bad as ‘xyz’. No situation is the same. If you don’t put yourself, your health and well-being first, it will pile up―especially in the times we’re currently living in.
Anyway, to wrap up this rambling, listen to yourself and be kind to yourself. Take care of your health, control what you can, and let go of what you can’t. It’s not linear. Be kind and show compassion to people, even strangers. You never know what someone is dealing with. As cliché and corny as it may sound, it’s a simple guide to life.
Rebecca Dickson is an Ottawa-based artist manager and artist development professional
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