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Musos are up to ten times more likely to face mental health issues

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Soundwave festival

Musicians are five times more likely to suffer from depression and 10 times more likely to show symptoms of anxiety. How did that get so bad?

A combination of low pay, irregular hours and a workplace surrounded by alcohol and drugs, among other things, is to blame, according to a Victoria University study from last year.

The study, commissioned by Entertainment Assist, surveyed almost 3,000 music industry workers and found suicide attempts were more than double that of the general population. Often, musicians didn't know where they could go for help.

A 2015 University of Queensland study found nine out of ten musos had some kind of precarious work situation and almost two thirds were drinking at harmful levels.

Both bits of research said more is needed to support the mental wellbeing of those in the music industry, including the development of an early intervention mental health program tailored to the industry.

Jen Cloher, a Melbourne singer/ songwriter who helps run Milk Records, says it's really hard for musicians to stay mentally healthy.

"I think what people don't realise is that if you have a career that has like zero safety net, isn't really recognised by any union, is kind of mocked by family and peers as a kind of a hobby, and 'what are you doing with your life you big loser, you're always in debt,' that's probably going to have an effect on your mental health."

Jen Cloher performing in Sydney()

Your mental health and self esteem are going to take a bashing from the fact that we don't value artists or the arts, really, in this country unless you're successful.

It's not just musicians that struggle with their mental health according to psychologist Dr Chris Stevens, the issue spreads right across the industry.

"Mostly you're going to be looking at variants of depression and anxiety disorders," he tells Hack.

"Beyond that, and probably just as distressing, is that there's many, many, many more people who may not be ticking that clinical box, but they're really, really struggling. It's not just about clinical disorders, it's about the level of distress that people are carrying generally."

Chris says there's some truth to the view that people who're attracted to the arts have a predisposition to mental illness, but says the bigger picture is the nature of the music industry.

There's a whole heap of what we call psychosocial factors that would make pretty much anyone unwell."

"You've got people with very irregular sleep, low income, there's a culture of drug and alcohol and I think a very damaging view that artists need to somehow or other need to be suffering to be creative.

"There's like a perfect storm in a way, there's a world around the industry that either celebrates this stuff or at the very least colludes with it and doesn't intervene when it sees someone is clearly struggling."

Chris doesn't believe the music industry is doing anywhere near enough to address these issues.

"I think the industry itself would recognise that. I've been somewhat shocked, because I work right across many industry sectors... and pretty much everywhere else outside the arts there's so much more being done."

Drugs and music
Flickr: Creative Commons

Joanna Cave, the CEO of Support Act, a music industry crisis relief service, references the Victoria Uni study when saying people in the industry don't know where to look for help.

"I think within music there's just that sense of people not knowing what to do and not necessarily identifying that that's what's wrong, they're feeling very low, might be drinking too much, but not really figuring out that there's a health issue materialising there.

"I think free access to confidential quality support services would be a really good step and more responsibility taken by the professionals that surround musos, the record labels, the managers.

"Many managers do accept and understand that they have a duty of care but I think that needs to be reinforced."

Joanna says decent pay would go a long way to relieving the stress in the music industry.

"I would love to see people earn a more regular reasonable wage for the work that they do, but I imagine that's a fantasy.

"That really is the biggest single thing."

Stereosonic Festival in Sydney

While Chris Steven wants the industry to do more Jen Cloher believes people need to take responsibility for their own mental health.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink and if someone doesn't want to take care of their health or isn't there at a place where they want to stop drinking then there's not much you can do.

"I think the desire to look after your health comes from within, it's not something someone can come along and impose upon someone."

Jen thinks the best thing musos can do is build a strong support network around them.

"The most important think about being a musician is working with other musicians and having community and not being in isolation.

"If you are going through a rough time, like an album tanks or a tour doesn't come off or you go into debt... you can turn to another musician, you can call someone up, you can call a friend and talk about it. I think if you don't create that community around you it's a much harder journey."

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Mental Health, Music (Arts and Entertainment)