The Weeknd Gets Very Real About His Mental Health Struggles

“It’s funny you should mention this [mental health]. I just had a panic attack right before this interview,” he said in the September 6 cover story. “My anxiety is a constant battle, and I feel like it never goes away. I’m learning to control it, but I’ve already realized that it’s part of my life. I can’t escape it.”

He also talked about the difficulty of persevering in the face of challenges, saying, “I think about giving up every day. But I also find purpose every day. My relationship with God is stronger than ever. I find comfort in His presence when I need it most. I talk to Him constantly. It’s been a long journey, but I’m here.”

If you’ve ever listened to The Weeknd’s music, it shouldn’t come off as a surprise how open he’s willing to talk about his mental health in this interview, even if it’s a bit gloomy. It’s important to be real about the journeys we’re having with our mental health, and that we’re able to express all facets of it — the good, bad, happy and sad. Only in acknowledging the multitudes of what we feel on a daily basis can we then be more proactive about dealing with them.

Now, this isn’t the first time The Weeknd has spoken on his mental health and related topics.

He’s talked about his substance use on multiple occasions throughout his career, telling The Guardian in 2016, “When I had nothing to do but make music, it was very heavy. Drugs were a crutch for me. There were songs on my first record that were seven minutes long, rambling — whatever thoughts I was having when I was under the influence at the time. I can’t see myself doing that now.”

And in a 2021 GQ interview, he discussed his evolution to being “sober lite.”

"I'm not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn't there," he said. "Drugs were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it."

And it’s in that last quote that The Weeknd drops a sobering nugget — “the work to figure out how not to need it.”

Keeping your mind in check requires work. It’s a responsibility, and if there are things that do more harm than good in ensuring that you’re mentally okay, you’ve got to do what’s necessary to balance that out.

Good mental health won’t just come to you. Each day, we are thrown something new that we have to adapt to mentally. Follow The Weeknd’s advice and know that, even though it is hard, it’s important to help you be the best person you can be.