Photo by Gilles Lambert on Unsplash.
Musicians are five times more likely to suffer from depression and ten times more likely to show signs of anxiety, according to the Working in the Australian Entertainment Industry report by Victoria University and Entertainment Assist from 2016.
‘There’s been quite a lot of discussion over recent years on the impact that mental health is having on artists and music workers,’ said Clive Miller, the CEO of charity organisation Support Act, which has set up a new Wellbeing Helpline for members of the Australian music industry.
‘Part of that discussion has been prompted by a number of suicides, both high and low profile,’ he added.
Read: Arts workers ‘twice as likely’ to attempt suicide
The Support Act Wellbeing Helpline runs Australia-wide and is available 24/7 for anyone who works under the umbrella of the Australian music industry including but not limited to journalists, DJs, technical crew, musicians and roadies.
Staffed by professional counsellors, the helpline offers expertise in all areas related to mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, addiction, suicidal ideation) as well as issues which can be mental health related (such as loneliness, relationship breakdown, financial worries, illness and workplace conflict).
‘One of the big challenges for a lot of musicians is how to deal with life on the road and the pressures of being away from home and having to perform and not having the support of their normal routines,’ Miller said. ‘For instance: not being able to go to the gym when they might normally do that and not being able to see friends or family.
‘I guess what we’re hoping is that the helpline will really act as an important form of early intervention so that people can really recognise the signs and symptoms in themselves so that they know, “Hey, I can really make this call and can talk to somebody who can help me through whatever it is that need to talk about.’
Room for improvement
Psychologist Dr Chris Stevens said that the Victoria University report shows that the levels of mental health issues among the three surveyed groups – performing artists and music composers, performing arts support workers, and broadcasting, film and recorded media equipment operators – are generally not that different among all of the arts categories.
‘This makes it obvious that, in addition to the Helpline for those in need, there remains a great deal of work that needs to be done to improve the psycho-social conditions in which all these workers work,” Stevens said.
‘The Support Act Helpline is a very timely support mechanism for all workers in the Australian music industry,’ Stevens added. ‘It is not only the artists who have much higher rates of mental health issues than the general population, but equally so, support workers, media operators and administrators across the industry.’
Support Act has been running for 20 years and was really established to provide crisis support to artists and music workers in need,’ Miller told ArtsHub.
‘By crisis support we really mean artists or music workers who might be suffering from financial hardship, ill health, injury or mental health issues.’
According to the report, some of the common challenges for music arts workers are low or irregular income; competitive environments, fewer safety nets and transients, which are all issues not dissimilar to those working across the broader areas of arts within Australia.
Read: How creatives can stop drinking themselves to death
Miller said he hopes musicians recommend the helpline to their wider network of contacts for anyone who may be in need.
And certainly a lot of anecdotal evidence from artists and music workers, managers their friends and families just about the impact that mental health issues are having it’s actually supported by a couple of key studies that have shown that musicians are five times more likely to struggle with depression and ten times more likely to show symptoms of anxiety
‘I’d encourage people to not only access the line if they feel the need to, but also encourage their friends and their bandmates, their colleagues to do so as well.’
You can reach the Support Act Helpline on 1800 959 500 within Australia. For more information visit: supportact.org.au
If you or anyone you know needs help call:
Beyond Blue – 1300 22 46 36
Lifeline – 13 11 14
