Billie Eilish, the pop prodigy, turned 18 last December. But do you know that she almost didn’t make it?
It’s true. The fame didn’t do her good when it comes to her mental health. The year 2018 was an especially grueling year for her. She couldn’t go outside without fans scrambling to take pictures. Her friends kind of drifted away too. All that made her felt incredibly lonely.
If you listen to her song “Bury a Friend”, you’ll come to understand the battle she had gone through. The song also reveals just how real mental health problems are among teenagers.
How bad is it?
According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 62 000 adolescents died in 2016 as a result of self-harm. Eilish was so close to becoming one of those unfortunate souls. She confessed that she had contemplated ending her own life while on tour. Scary, huh?
In reality, stress is a normal thing for any teenager to feel. It’s not a problem exclusive to rising stars. All around you teenagers are dealing with mounting stress on a daily basis. Some already find ways to cope with it while others are still looking.
How to reduce the pressure of stress
There are plenty of things you can do when you think the world has been putting too much burden on your shoulder. We have listed some of them here. You don’t need to try all of them, just pick the ones that suit you.
No more mind reading.
If you think people have a bad opinion on you, they most likely don’t. People on you see on the street or at school are mostly too occupied with their own problems to even form any opinion on you.
No more absolutes
Thinking “Thing’s will never get better” or “This is the only way” won’t do you any good. You can solve 99.9% of problems in this world in more ways than one. Why? Because that’s the way the world works.
Find a place to “run away”
When you’ve too much going on, you can always find peace in a quiet place. The library is an excellent place to wind down and take a breather. It’s quiet by rule, and with all the books you can have a mental vacation there.
If you prefer to make your bedroom as the quiet place, it’s OK too. Lie down on your bed and listen to your favorite music. You can also listen to some relaxing ambient sounds to calm your mind. There are thousands of excellent ambient sounds at ambient-mixer.com from the normal to the “weird” ones. Give them a go. You just might like it.
Reach out
Even though Billie Eilish felt she was alone, she wasn’t. She has her mom checking in with her all the time. She made sure to turn down any demand that would put too much burden on her daughter.
If you feel you don’t have friends or family to reach out to, reach out to the crisis text line. Yes, they’re strangers, but in the real world, strangers helping other strangers without expecting any reward is common.
You might have heard about the story of parents looking for donors for their children by posting on social media or putting signs on the back of their trucks. The crazy thing was, those things worked.
There are so many good people on Earth. All you need to do is to reach out. Remember, you are NOT alone.
