As any fan of The Amity Affliction will tell you, for years the band’s frontman, Joel Birch, has been fearless about discussing his struggles with depression both in his lyrics and frequently in interviews.
“They’re open and honest,” bassist Ahren Stringer told Tone Deaf about his bandmate’s words back in 2013. “A lot of people struggle with depression, and I really think Joel speaks to them in a way that other people can’t.”
“I think that while mental health is currently getting a push from the government in Australia, I think it’s still something that’s largely swept under the mat,” Birch himself told Music Feeds last year.
“And Australians in particular have such a ‘She’ll be ‘right’ attitude to things and mental health, because there’s no physical symptoms, it’s really hard to address.”
“I feel like we’re writing music where people can come to our shows and know that there’s a support network there, [that] all these people get it.”
As part of triple j’s recent focus on mental health, Birch spoke to the station’s Hack program about his battles with depression and in particular his relationship with alcohol, which both medicated and exacerbated his depression.
“It shone a microscope on my problems,” Birch told Hack. In addition to depression, Birch has struggled with social anxiety, feeling intensely uncomfortable around close mates. “That is something that I still struggle with to do this day,” he said.
“I definitely think that when I have a few drinks that goes away, but prior to that I am always sort of feeling like I am behind the eight ball, or saying stupid shit.” But being on tour proved a stumbling block for Birch and even lead to a breakdown.
“The majority of the time is spent waiting to do something, and a lot of the time, it’s that waiting and sitting around doing nothing and confidence issues getting on stage, that leads to drinking,” he explained.
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“The last tour we did in America the drinking lead to hangovers obviously which led to me being forgetful and not taking my medication, which led to a breakdown, so it’s a vicious cycle really.” Birch said he was drinking when he reached the point of attempting to kill himself.
According to Dr Michael Bowed from Sydney University, having a few drinks might initially ease anxiety, but regular exposure to alcohol can damage parts of the brain that help regulate emotion.
“You might have people who otherwise may not have developed an anxiety disorder or depression who develop it as a result of their alcohol abuse,” Dr Bowen told triple j.
If you’re having a rough time, you can always talk to someone at Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat online here.
