The 'You Had Me' singer comes under fire for claiming that medicines are not necessary for people who are suffering from anxiety and children who are struggling with ADHD.
- Sep 3, 2020
AceShowbiz - Joss Stone has been branded "insanely ignorant" for claiming mental health medicines are unnecessary for those suffering from anxiety or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
On her "A Cuppa Happy" podcast on Monday (31Aug20), the British soul singer spoke to Wim Hoff - an extreme athlete who uses breathing techniques to overcome intense physical challenges - when the subject turned to mental health.
Stone said, "This makes me sound really terrible, but I kind of grow tired of hearing people go 'I've got anxiety, I've got depression.' There are people that do have those in a big way and there are some people that just need a diagnosis, but there are issues that are quite physical and issues that are mental."
"If somebody is upset about something it's probably because something upsetting has happened - it's not because you have this ailment that you need to take drugs for. That makes me sound incredibly insensitive but you have to decide that's not who you are. You have to take that on as you."
She went on to claim sufferers should "hug a tree" rather than take prescription drugs before turning her dubious expertise towards ADHD - an issue that causes behavioural problems in children and can continue into adulthood.
"Here in America, I notice they give a lot of drugs to children that are running around a lot," she added. "And the kids will run around and break things and kick things so they take their kids to the doctors, and they'll say, 'Oh well he's got ADHD.' It's a lot of b**locks. I just think, 'No he has actually just got energy because he is a child.' "
Twitter users swamped the replies to a post advertising the podcast, with one branding the "You Had Me" singer "insanely ignorant."
Another added, "This is awful and ignorant and you should be ashamed of yourself. This kind of misinformation literally kills people," while another Twitter user wrote, "Joss. If I didn't start taking antidepressants two years ago I would probably be dead now."
Her comments on ADHD also provoked fury, with one response reading, "Maybe @JossStone should experience living with a person (in this case, a child) with ADHD & see what it's like. Utter ignorance on a mindblowing level!"
The star is yet to publicly respond to her critics
