FAC Insights: Resident Mind by Blue Rhythm (episode 2)
FAC Insights is a forum for us to showcase and share long form pieces looking at various parts of the music industry and the society that shapes it. Pieces take the form of videos, interviews, discussions, articles and more. This week we are delighted to share the second installment of our newest FAC Insights series called Resident Mind, delivered by Friends of the FAC, Blue Rhythm. They represent leading professionals within the fields of mental health and substance use in order to facilitate anonymous treatment, support and resources for the music industry.
Blue Rhythm’s core aims align with the FAC goals of creating tangible change in the music industry. Blue Rhythm is designed for artists, by artists, to support the music community with issues that need to be handled carefully and with utmost care. Their anonymous network of support was created so that the music industry has access to pre-vetted, highly qualified therapists, who have experienced the industry first-hand. Therefore FAC were delighted to welcome Blue Rhythm onboard in 2020 as a Friend of the FAC. As part of this partnership, the Resident Mind series was created. There’s a time and a place for tough conversations, and more often than not, we can find ourselves holding back, trying our best to just carry on. Resident Mind is a 3 Part Series from the founders of Blue Rhythm. These episodes are designed to provide the FAC Community with tools to help navigate your life in music. See episode 2 below.
Resident Mind
The music industry requires a solution for a mental health and addiction crisis spanning decades - musicians are three times more likely to suffer from such issues, however, there is no industry-specific solution to mitigate this crisis at-scale. Today’s epidemic persists due to a support gap which Blue Rhythm seeks to help fill, working to prevent artists from suffering alone. We focus on healing what is not necessarily visible, ensuring issues which can compromise both ability and success do not negatively impact a life in music.
In the Resident Mind series, we’ve created three episodes which provide useful tips and tricks for dealing with certain mental health and addiction issues. Each episode features our portfolio of medical professionals, who walk you through some of the challenges you may face as a member of the music industry. These episodes are designed to be short and straight to the point - we’re not here to waste your time. We created the Resident Mind series after growing tired of hour-long presentations which left us with more questions than answers. We wanted to make it easy for people to access support wherever and whenever. And lastly, we won’t lie, after nearly two years of COVID-19, we struggled to watch and listen to another grainy, distorted audio, zoom recording.
The Resident Mind series continues with Episode 2, featuring our video on Navigating Substances and Addiction in the Music Industry. Coach Will is back for our second episode, where he addresses how substances can often feel like an intrinsic part of being in music. Learn how best to deal with your colleagues, co-workers, and even your own substance use, the key things to look out for, and strategies to help you prioritize your own health and wellbeing.
For most, a career in music is something that you aspire to, tirelessly work towards - it’s not a job that ‘feels like the logical next step’ or just falls into your lap. If you’re an artist, you’ve likely, genuinely put blood, sweat and tears into building your career. Your work is not limited to the confines of a job - it is part of you, it’s part of your identity. When you feel as though you must sacrifice almost everything in order to become successful, it is all too easy to say yes to things which might make you uncomfortable, or seem like a bad decision. Combine this with the nature of work in music: late, endless nights, with no clear distinction between the personal and professional - you exist in a weird void of uncertainty, with few guidelines on how to approach situations. We know the music industry is a truly unique ecosystem, perhaps that’s part of the appeal. But this also means you’re left to navigate an endless sea of blurred lines and shades of grey, which is part of the reason our beloved industry experiences higher rates of addiction and substance misuse, than most others.
You may ask, why is this career so much more prone to substance abuse than others? And perhaps the previous paragraph gave you the answer you were looking for. If not, in short: drugs and alcohol can not only feel inseparable from life in the music industry, they are indeed historically ingrained - one of the few industries where substances are somehow still an acceptable form of currency. We’ve talked to so many artists who, instead of being paid for a gig, are given an open bar tab or a greenroom stocked with vodka and beer. Music producers have been paid in illicit substances rather than checks, and so the cycle goes. On top of this issue of unique payment methods, substances are staples at music events - where venues rely on alcohol sales to remain open, festivals seek alcohol sponsors in order to cover costs, and numbing the stress of performing or attending these events by taking what is already in front of you is all too commonplace.
Addiction is a rampant problem in music. It’s all too easy and common for artist teams to unknowingly or intentionally become enablers, or become addicted themselves. Fueled by the massive lack of knowledge and training around substance use versus misuse, and not fully understanding the responsibility these teams have in protecting and guiding artists - the crisis continues. There have been far too many artists who have lost their lives as a result of addiction. And although this is by no means a new issue, artists are continually faced with a new set of challenges: increasing pressures of keeping up with the new standard of hyper-communication via social media, combined with trying to work in a dynamic which prioritizes your ‘relevance’ over your art. This, at times, inhuman existence of extremes where coping mechanisms are needed more than ever - with substances becoming an increasingly accessible and normalised means of dealing with stress and burnout.
And while you might be very much aware of this - a void remains. This is why Blue Rhythm has created this series: Resident Mind is an opportunity to provide guidance to the overwhelming mass of unanswered questions, a place to make advice readily available in order to help you navigate life in music without sacrificing your health. While there has been progress in educating people about the negative impact mental illness and addiction can have on your life, more often than not the advice is unrelateable (or brings back flashbacks to cringe-worthy school health lessons). Stigmas and myths are being chased away, but at present remain harmful, and interfere with people getting help. It’s important to recognise addiction as the disease that it is: addiction is a disease - not a choice, and it can affect anyone.
Musicians often suffer at greater rates because of the connection between performance highs and trying to replace or replicate that feeling with a substance. It is all too common to become addicted without even realising it. Coach Will outlines the warning signs in this video, and what to look out for if you’re worried about yourself, or others. Feeling the need to partake in using substances in order to be successful in music is often an everyday experience - where passing on a post-work pub crawl may feel akin to being passed over for a promotion. Addiction is complex: there is no, one reason why someone has become addicted, just as there isn’t a surefire way to avoid addiction all-together. Similar to how we’ve all learned that teaching school children celibacy as the only way to avoid pregnancy is not only incorrect, but ineffective - telling someone to never try alcohol because you may become addicted tends to do more harm than good. This is why it is always advisable to speak with a medical professional if you have any questions or doubts. Just like physical and mental health - there is no one size fits all treatment. Coach Will said it best: “it is very much possible to succeed in the music industry without sacrificing your own health” and we want to help you do just that. To finish off, we wanted to stress one last thing: there is no shame in saying ‘no’ to situations that may make you feel uncomfortable. You should never have to feel guilty for prioritizing your own wellbeing - remain vigilant in your power to make your own decisions.
If you have any questions, or just want to have a chat - our website’s chatbox is anonymous - feel free to reach out anytime. We are always here to help and support you throughout your career in music, but we also want to provide a list of resources so that you have information readily available:
Resources:
Meetings: Smart Recovery
Further information: Drug Wise / Alcoholics Anonymous / Cocaine Anonymous / Marijuana Anonymous / Narcotics Anonymous
We are always interested to hear from you. Whether it be about the video series (what you liked, what you hated, and what you would like to see more of), or if you have any questions about Blue Rhythm.
Reach out to Blue Rhythm