Demi lovato announced that “Holy Fvck” will be his last tour. in a instagram story Posted Tuesday, the 30-year-old singer wrote from her hotel room: “I’m so fucking sick I can’t get out of bed.” While Lovato has yet to share any more details about her current health status, they made the decision quite clear. “I can’t do this anymore. This next tour will be my last. I love and thank you.”
This kind of representation, that an icon so many people look up to can walk away from a grueling work environment, gives hope that maybe, just maybe, you can too.
Lovato has released eight studio albums and has also toured eight times, and her health has suffered noticeably. In 2018, Lovato had a near fatal overdose followed by three strokes and a heart attack. Of course, the fans were upset by the news of the tour, but they reacted with understanding and sympathy. a Twitter user he wrote, “if the tour has to end then it’s heartbreaking but we do NOT want a repeat of 2018…happiness and health of demis is the most important thing to us…music is anything but them like a happy, healthy human being who functions. means more.. demi lovato we love you.”
The announcement follows a recent pattern of artists, including Justin Bieber, shawn mendesY jonah hill — who canceled tours or stepped away from the spotlight to prioritize their health. This is happening at the same time as trends like “quiet quit smoking” do the rounds, which emphasize applying a more sustainable work-life balance.
Are we finally seeing people, both celebrities and “norms”, move away from the hustle culture? POPSUGAR spoke with Trey TuckerLPC, a licensed therapist who works with musical artists, actors and professional athletes, to talk about the benefits of watching this game in public view and how to practice putting our well-being first.
Fame comes with some unique mental health struggles
It seems that celebrities are increasingly willing to make career sacrifices to address their mental health. “They’ve been struggling with the belief that ‘I’ll be happy when I get to the top of the mountain,’ but when they get to the top of the mountain, they find out it was bait and switch,” says Tucker. . Being famous doesn’t automatically make you happy. “If you ask famous artists like actors and musicians, they will tell you privately that almost everyone in their industry he is depressedhas anxietyor both, and I’ve noted five main reasons for this.”
While they don’t all apply to everyone, here are some common root issues celebrities struggle with, according to Tucker. (And the reality is, even if you’re not famous, some of these matches may still feel relatable.)
- Achievement vs Realization. They worked incredibly hard and achieved the professional success they wanted, but it didn’t satisfy them. “It didn’t bring the joy and satisfaction and meaning that they thought it would bring,” says Tucker. “It left them empty, with a thought like, ‘Is this all there is?'” Depression becomes almost inevitable when she realizes that.
- Identity and Value. “Before they achieved success, they didn’t develop a sense of self-worth, so the role they play as an actor or a musician temporarily becomes their identity and source of validation,” says Tucker. Thus, while in character or on a concert stage, they feel significant, even loved, on a superficial level, and escape insecurities and uncertainties for a while. “So acting becomes a drug, and they only feel like themselves, really alive, when they’re acting,” she adds. But when the show ends, they come back to reality. “That can become a deadly cycle, and artists who realize that often decide to walk away from it and do the inner work to grow and get healthy.”
- Pressure. Nothing is “good enough” in your industry; therefore, it is difficult for the person to feel well enough. “The record company always wants the next album to top the success of the previous release,” says Tucker. “The movie producer needs the actor to propel the movie to an even bigger box office total than the last one.” There is also the great pressure of comparison with his competition.
- The why.” They’ve lost their “why,” their reason for doing what they do, or their “why” wasn’t a healthy and satisfying reason in the first place, and that fact eventually surfaced. “Especially once they’ve reached a certain level of fame and financial success, they don’t feel challenged anymore,” says Tucker. “Creative people especially need challenges to stay inspired and motivated to keep growing.”
- “Yes men.” Celebrities often end up surrounded by people who need them and the financial benefits they provide. “It creates a power dynamic where the people around them don’t have the position or the courage to tell the celebrity the hard truths they need to hear,” says Tucker. “It creates an isolating effect where the celebrity has an ‘entourage’ but no one who is a true partner to talk about their life with.”
But celebrities are stuck in this burnout cycle right here with us.
Our favorite artists have worries, insecurities, pain and arguments with their loved ones just like us. “They have marital conflict, tension in their marriages, kids that stress them out, and work-related pressures and expectations,” says Tucker. Except for them, they also have to stay “on” constantly. “Their bodies remain in a fight or flight state because they know that people are watching, filming and potentially examining their every move.” Tucker also points out that celebrities tend to have a disproportionate lots of childhood trauma – something Lovato has spoken in the past. Of course, celebrities generally have more resources at their disposal to deal with these things, but the bottom line is this: celebrities are human too, and no one is immune from burnout. Not even them.
Recently, the throwback against hustle culture has materialized in that TikTok buzzword: quiet quit smoking. The idea is to do your job but resist the pressure to go above and beyond, especially when that would mean blurring the lines of your work life. And while this is the newer moniker for what a lot of people feel, it’s just another iteration of what we’ve been seeing over the last couple of years through the “Great Resignation,” the “Great Reshuffle,” and generally ” work is soul-crushing” complaints. Before the pandemic, we may have embraced being a “girl boss,” but COVID-19 has made more people think about their priorities and the fragility of their health. Many people who put their lives on pause during lockdown (including celebrities) find it harder to remember why we were okay with us crashing before, and blatantly refuse to do it again now that life has once “resumed” plus.
Ultimately, hustle culture is not entirely negative; he’s just selling us the wrong idea, says Tucker. “Achieving any worthwhile goal requires an incredible amount of hard work and sacrifice,” she says. “But the myth is that a meaningful life is waiting in the final off that busy road. We need to build a meaningful life from the inside out. Then we can start to rush from a base of satisfaction and joy instead of seeking it from the external success that we crave.”
What we can learn from these celebrities about prioritizing our well-being
It is easier to prevent exhaustion than heal from it. “Catch it early by regularly taking what I call the ENP test: energy, negativity, and productivity,” says Tucker. “If you’re constantly lacking in energy, negative or cynical, and less productive (even when well-rested), you’re headed for burnout.” Reorganize how you spend your time so that it reflects your values. “Start with small changes at first, so you’ll be more likely to stick with them and prioritize people and activities that recharge you rather than drain you,” Tucker emphasizes. It also requires healthy choices in three areas of self-care: sleep, exercise, and nutrition. Tucker likes to use the analogy of a stool with three legs: if one leg loses its balance, the entire stool can collapse.
Putting your needs first is especially challenging when others trust you. (Bieber and Mendes canceled world tours with more than 70 shows still to play. That’s a lot of disappointed fans.) Set limits it also takes practice, which is why it’s so uncomfortable at first, but it’s worth it if it lets you put your health first, and that’s something we’re pleased to see Lovato and others setting the stage for (no pun intended). . Yes, celebrities often have the privilege of walking away from touring income. Yet this kind of representation, that an icon so many people admire can walk away from a grueling work environment, gives hope that maybe, just maybe, you can too.
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