In a powerful essay written for 'It's Not OK to Feel Blue (And Other Lies)', the 'Mile High' singer admits that girlfriend Jameela Jamil's suicide confession 'verbally slapped some sense into him.'
- Oct 14, 2019
AceShowbiz - James Blake has opened up about his mental health struggles in a powerful essay.
The musician detailed his inner turmoil in "It's Not Ok To Feel Blue (And Other Lies)" - an anthology collection about mental health curated by Scarlett Curtis, daughter of famed British screenwriter Richard Curtis and broadcaster Emma Freud.
In the piece, the star contrasts his "happy childhood" alongside good parents, with his experience of never being subjected to oppression at the level of minorities or the LGBTQ community, observing: "Life for people like me is undoubtedly the easiest of any group. But my privilege didn't make me want to stick around, and it makes me feel even more embarrassed for having let myself go," the "King's Dead" star continued."
However, he said his girlfriend Jameela Jamil - who recently opened up about her past suicide attempt in a heartfelt post in honour of World Mental Health Day on October 10 - "verbally slapped some sense into him", adding: "It does not help anybody, least of all oneself, to compare pain."
"I can only imagine how frustrating it was for this Pakistani woman (Jamil) to watch me – with all my advantages in life – self-sabotage and complain like I have," he added of "The Good Place" star's experiences of discrimination.
He went on to explain how his rise to fame didn't help his mental health battles, musing: "My persecution complex turned into a self-serving narcissism, and my obsession with proving my worth to people who'd underestimated me was now being rewarded financially."
Despite sharing his self-proclaimed guilt, James conceded his feelings were valid, concluding: "I don't want the shame around depression and anxiety in privileged people to become worse any more than I want it for the marginalised."
"Without addressing that pain we end up with more cis-gendered white male egomaniacs who bleed their s**t on to everybody (and some of them will write albums about it)."
