Today, the 30th, we reach the end of September, which for many is automatically associated with Yellow September , the month in which suicide prevention and, consequently, attention to mental health becomes a frequent topic in various forms of communication, and is the focus of actions and forms of education on this vital subject. Here at Wikimetal , we chose the last day of the month to reinforce that talking about and caring for mental health needs to be, in fact, a topic for every day of the entire year, and how music can and should help us in this continuous process.
According to a study by the British Academy of Sound Therapy , listening to about 78 minutes of music a day can have a significant influence on maintaining mental health, based on research with 7,500 people worldwide. The study's conclusions also present an interesting detail: the variety of sound types can be key to maintaining this balance, and the BASP recommends: 14 minutes of upbeat music, 16 minutes of calm music, 16 minutes of music to overcome sadness, 15 minutes of music to motivate productivity, and 17 minutes of music to help deal with anger.
But taking care of mental health certainly goes beyond recipes for happiness, and finding a vital part of the process is venting our feelings, and listening to encouraging words and conversations to understand what is going on inside us through the experiences of others.
In May of this year, Lily Cornell Silver announced the Mind Wide Open in the same week that the world lost the idol Chris Cornell , and Lily lost her father. “My goal with this project is simple,” she explains. “I want to help normalize the conversation about mental health (…) Now, more than ever, people are suffering with their mental health due to the trauma, stress, loss, and collective grief due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Lily also shared her own struggles after losing her father, which makes the project's premise even more special. “We always talked about the anxiety and depression he suffered from, and mental health was something he always had to deal with his whole life (…) Losing my father opened a hole in my heart, and the grief and trauma that followed come with their own struggles.”
The show already has 11 episodes which can be viewed in full on Lily's Instagram Pearl Jam 's vocalist , Eddie Vedder, .
Talinda Bennington , the widow of Linkin Park's lead singer Chester, who died in July 2017 after a long battle with depression, also dedicated part of her life to helping and informing as many people as possible about mental health
Talinda created the 320 Festival with the goal of normalizing conversations about mental health after witnessing her husband suffer from depression and substance abuse for many years. However, she lacked sufficient information to help her family navigate this situation. Therefore, the event aims to provide people with the necessary help and information to care for themselves and their loved ones. Click here to learn more about the festival.
Substances, as seen in the cases of Cornell and Bennington, are a large part of the struggle with mental health, especially in music. Last year, Metallica frontman James Hetfield returned to rehab to treat his addictions, and today, he seems to be doing well.
Project46 guitarist Vini Castellari , who spoke in an interview with Wikimetal about his experience, claiming it was the best decision he ever made. Now, back in the "real world," he's using his social media platform to share his experiences and help others who may be suffering from addiction , as he explains: "Historically, not only in metal but worldwide, we have family men, we have many heroes not only in music but in many fields who died because of addiction, which is what I discovered within the therapeutic community where I stayed for those five months."
“This process was liberating; it’s just a foundation, the beginning of a daily recovery, and so I was able to learn much more about myself. We live in a society where everything is very rushed, very immediate, very ready-made, and life is much bigger than that. (…) In the past, I managed to find a temporary solution because I hadn’t yet encountered a program that helps in the process, which is an anonymous fellowship that saves millions of lives worldwide, is non-profit, and within this therapeutic community I had the opportunity to learn about it. It was a very important process, even though it’s painful and difficult to give up everything you have around you, but you don’t have yourself; you can’t value other things.”
Check out one of the videos Vini is making on his YouTube channel .
If you need help, contact the Center for Life Appreciation (CVV), which provides emotional support and suicide prevention 24 hours a day, every day, by phone at 188, and also via chat, email, and in person . Click here to learn more.
