He urged those struggling in lockdown to seek help
U2 bassist Adam Clayton has spoken on how the coronavirus-enforced lockdown can affect those who struggle with their mental health.
The musician, who’s opened up previously on his depression and issues with alcohol, appeared on Ireland’s The Late Late Show last night (May 8).
Video calling from his home in Dublin, Clayton urged viewers who were finding this time particularly difficult to reach out for support.
“It’s hugely difficult to manage and in an isolated state, when you’re just stuck with your own head and the thoughts going on inside your head, that is extremely stressful,” he said.
Responding to how he had dealt with his own struggles, Clayton explained: “I guess honesty. Facing honesty. Facing that I needed to be a part of a community. I needed some sort of fellowship. I needed some sort of relationship with other human beings to talk about what was going on for me.”
The bassist went on to say that he had found it difficult to face his problems in the past as he was seen to be “someone doing very well in my career” (via RTE).
“Because everything around me was telling me that I should be on top of the world, that this was the greatest thing that could happen to me,” he said. “But there was a sense of emptiness, and that’s what addiction brings, where you start to have a desire to get away from feelings and have a very low sense of self-worth.”
Back in 2016, Clayton said that he had “relied too much on alcohol and other things” as a means to cope with his problems. “I pretty much had a eureka moment. I was fed up of the way I felt constantly,” he explained.
Meanwhile, U2’s Bono last month helped Ireland in their efforts to obtain urgent coronavirus medical supplies.
FOR HELP AND ADVICE ON MENTAL HEALTH:
- YOUNG MINDS – The voice for young people’s health and wellbeing
- MIND – For mental health support, advice and awareness
- CALM – The Campaign Against Living Miserably for young men
- Time To Change – Let’s end mental health discrimination
- The Samaritans – Confidential support 24 hours a day
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