Hayley Williams talks about how she came to realize that she was depressed
Growing up isn’t easy for anyone. And it’s not made any easier when you’re thrust into the spotlight at the tender age of 15. For Hayley Williams, being the lead singer of Paramore means she’s been in the public eye since before she could even drive a car. And although she was an optimistic teenager, at 28 she’s realizing it’s not quite as easy to be optimistic as an adult, and that sometimes it’s difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hayley talked to The Fader about her battle with depression and what it’s like to feel hopeless, in what might be her most candid interview to date.
In the interview, she talks about what it’s like to live with depression. And how sometimes you just have to get help, like go to therapy, and take it one day at a time. Hayley tells The Fader,
“For the first time in my life, there wasn’t a pinhole of light at the end of the tunnel. I thought, I just wish everything would stop. It wasn’t in the sense of, I’m going to take my life. It was just hopelessness. Like, what's the point? I don’t think I understood how dangerous hopelessness is. Everything hurts."
Hayley realized she needed help when she would spend all day in bed watching The Office. When she started thinking about death more and more, she realized she couldn’t do this alone. Hayley is a reminder to us that there’s nothing wrong with getting help; that no matter how successful you are, mental illness is still real and it should be taken seriously.
We’re so thankful that Hayley shared her story.
