James Blake Discusses Mental Health In New Essay

James Blake penned a powerful essay earlier this week on his struggles with mental health. Published as a part of It’s Not Ok To Feel Blue (And Other Lies), a collection of writing about mental health, by Scarlett Curtis, Blake opens up about his struggles with depression, fame and his relationships.

For one, Blake speaks on feeling embarrassed to have all the privilege he does as a straight white male from a good home, but still falling victim to depression. “life for people like me is undoubtedly the easiest of any group,” he says. “But my privilege didn’t make me want to stick around, and it makes me feel even more embarrassed for having let myself go,” he added.

“But my girlfriend verbally slapped some sense into me, saying it does not help anybody, least of all oneself, to compare pain,” he continued. “And that was good advice to hear from someone who’d been through what she has. I can only imagine how frustrating it was for this Pakistani woman to watch me – with all my advantages in life – self-sabotage and complain like I have.”

Blake goes on to also discuss how fame impacted his relationships with women, “I distrusted them for their sudden, transparent interest, so I pushed them all away. 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,” he continued. “To those ends, my first emotional language – music – had been the vehicle. I wanted to show everyone what they’d missed out on for all those years.”

You can read the entirety of Blake’s essay here.