Sarah Bareilles is showing his followers on social media the medications he takes to manage his mental health.
The singer of “I choose you” led to instagram on January 18 to share a photo of a small white pill that, as she explained in the caption, has had a profound impact on her mental health.
“This is my medicine,” Bareilles began in his post. “(Medications not illustrated: friends/family, therapy, exercise, sleep, and meditation). I wanted to write a little bit about the fact that after 20 years of feeling very strongly that this was not the path I needed to take… He tried medication for the first time. For the first time in months I can feel myself again: my joy, my optimism and my laughter are among some of the precious parts of myself that I have rediscovered. They sit at the table of my soul, together with my sweet sadness and my tender anguish… which, by the way, are no longer the only ones who speak. It is a deep and sacred relief.”
Bareilles shared that she struggles with depression and anxiety, and that over the past year she has felt “hopeless” and “overwhelmed” most of the time.
“The amount of energy it took to ‘manage’ my emotions (I use that term loosely because it makes me seem like I have control over anything) exhausted me so much that my entire sense of self was distorted. I didn’t feel like myself anymore,” he continued. “Depression is not rational. It doesn’t respond to ‘I have a lot to be thankful for’ or ‘just focus on the good things’. I’ve been through depression and anxiety many times in my life, but this time I needed some extra help.”
While Bareilles shared that she had “a lot of feelings” about taking medication, even if she was taking a “shortcut,” she eventually realized “this medication helped me see myself again, without the cloak of depression and anxiety.” .
The Girls5Eve The actress received plenty of praise in her comments section for her outspokenness, with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles writing, “I love all that you are and I’m so happy you found the support you need! You feel good and you feel good about yourself.” It’s a gift to the world!!!” Josh Groban added: “What an extraordinary step and even more so to share. All that you are is what you deserve and what we are lucky to have in our lives. Keep walking towards the light my friend.”
Bareilles isn’t the only star to open up about taking medication to help with mental health issues. In 2020, Katy Perry told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM talk show that she was initially “ashamed” of taking medication for her depression.
“I was like . . . I wrote ‘Firework,'” Perry explained. “But it was one of those things where I twisted my brain a little bit.”
Last year, the actress Alyssa Milano opened up on TikTok about taking medication after a user joked that she had “forgotten” to take it that day.
“I have anxiety with complex PTS [post-tramautic stress]and panic disorder. I take my medicine, because I like to be just functional,” he Charmed the alum explained. “I think it’s time to destigmatize mental health medication, like we’ve destigmatized, I don’t know, say, Botox?”
Want to get lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here to Yahoo Life Newsletter.
