Singer Sara Bareilles revealed she is taking medication for anxiety and depression and said she finally ‘feels like herself again’ – after a decades-long struggle with mental health.
The 42-year-old explained that she decided to try taking medicine for her mental health issues after 20 years of feeling ‘very strongly that it was not the path she needed to take.’
According to the Brave songstress – who has battled anxiety and depression for more than two decades – things got especially worse over the last year, and she started to wonder if she’d ever find ‘a way out.’
But after starting medication, she has since ‘rediscovered joy, optimism, and laughter.’
She got candid about it in an Instagram post on Tuesday, where she credited the medicine with helping her feel like herself again ‘for the first time in months’ – calling it a ‘profound, holy relief.’
Singer Sara Bareilles revealed she is taking medication for anxiety and depression and said she finally ‘feels like herself again’ – after a decades-long struggle with mental health
The 42-year-old admitted via Instagram on Tuesday that she decided to try taking medicine after 20 years of feeling ‘very strongly that it was not the path she needed to take’
According to the star – who has battled anxiety and depression for more than two decades – things got worse over the last year, and she started to wonder if she’d ever find ‘a way out’
‘This is my medicine,’ she captioned the post, which showed her holding a small white pill in her hand. ‘Not pictured medicines: 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 it was not the path I needed to take… I have 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 I have rediscovered.
‘They sit at my soul’s table, along with my sweet sadness and my tender anxiety…who, by the way, aren’t the only ones talking anymore. It is a profound, holy relief.’
Sara explained that for the last year she felt ‘desperate and overwhelmed almost all the time,’ and that trying to ‘manage her emotions’ would often ‘exhaust’ her.
She continued: ‘For those who don’t understand it or have never dealt with it, from the inside of depression and anxiety sometimes you can’t see the possibility of a way out, much less the path itself.
‘For the past year, I felt desperate and overwhelmed almost all the time. The amount of energy it took to “manage” my emotions (I use that term loosely because that makes me seem like I had a handle on anything) would exhaust me so much that my whole sense of myself got distorted.
Sara explained that for the last year she felt ‘desperate and overwhelmed almost all the time,’ and that trying to ‘manage her emotions’ would often ‘exhaust’ her
But after starting medication, she has since ‘rediscovered joy, optimism, and laughter’
She also thanks her long-term boyfriend, Joe Tippett, who ‘listened, lifted up, comforted, and encouraged’ her to ‘do what needs to be done to feel better’
‘I didn’t feel like me anymore. Depression is not rational. It does not respond to “I have so much to be grateful for,” or, “Just concentrate on the good things.”’
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Sara, who wrote the lyrics and music for Broadway’s Waitress, admitted that she had ‘so many feelings’ about starting medication, but in the end, it helped her ‘see herself again, without the cloak of depression and anxiety.’
She also thanks her long-term boyfriend, Joe Tippett, who ‘listened, lifted up, comforted, and encouraged’ her to ‘do what needs to be done to feel better.’
‘I have moved through depression and anxiety many times in my life, but this time I needed extra help,’ she added.
‘I had SO MANY FEELINGS about it. “What am I trying to suppress?” “Am I taking a short cut instead of doing the work?” “I’m afraid I won’t recognize myself anymore.”
‘For me, the truth was that this medicine helped me see myself again, without the cloak of depression and anxiety.
‘I remember myself. I am lucky to be surrounded by an INCREDIBLE partner (I love you @joetipps) and angelic friends who have listened, lifted up, comforted and encouraged me to do what needs to be done to feel better.
‘It ultimately came down to me though. This was more than I could hold on my own.
‘I was blessed with a breaking point. So let it all break open… So it can be reassembled to be stronger than before. Keep going. Begin again.’
The star first opened up about her mental health issues in another Instagram post shared on January 3.
The star first opened up about her mental health issues in another Instagram post shared on January 3. In it, she admitted that last year was ‘very low’ for her
She got candid about her struggles while sharing a series of snaps that she took on a trip to Finland with friends and her boyfriend to celebrate the New Year
In it, she admitted that last year was ‘very low’ for her and got candid about her struggles while sharing a series of snaps that she took on a trip to Finland with friends and her boyfriend to celebrate the New Year.
‘I went to the coldest place with the warmest people. The Northern Lights graced our final night and we chased them on snowmobiles and yelped with delight as they rippled upwards and across the universe that once again reminded me to sit back and watch the magic unfold,’ she wrote at the time.
‘I’m grateful for quiet snow blankets, chilly winter walks, 3 AM soup sessions, cold plunges, and feeling seen and loved by my Bub.
‘It has been a very low year for me with regard to my mental health, and I am also grateful that part of the reason I can touch my joy again is I finally got the help of some medication.
‘It’s been a journey to try and pull up, and I found this year I needed more help. It is helping.
‘I am relieved and feel more like myself – and I will find my way again and now it feels possible.
‘If you’re struggling – I see you, and I hope you remember you’re not stuck as long as you’re willing to change the view. Begin again. #HappyNewYear.’
Source: Daily Mail
