Yung Lean talks about why he distanced himself from Kanye and talks about his experience as a creative on Bipolar medication in opposition to Ye’s claims on medication hindering creativity
Posted by geosunsetmoth
Yung Lean talks about why he distanced himself from Kanye and talks about his experience as a creative on Bipolar medication in opposition to Ye’s claims on medication hindering creativity
Posted by geosunsetmoth
8 Comments
I think the debate around psych meds is a really complicated one but this is a good perspective! I do acknowledge and respect the opinion that antipsychotics especially are extremely over- prescribed, despite the fact that they can have horrific side effects and make life very difficult for the people taking them (though of course, the trade- offs are worth it for many).
I’m speaking as someone who was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder a long time ago and took mood stabilizers for a period of time (without any improvement in my actual symptoms). It’s unquestionable that psychiatrists sometimes try to push meds on people just because they’re seen as a quick fix and sometimes, the meds make people less “troublesome” as patients even if the underlying problems remain.
I do wish psychiatrists and other practitioners would be more honest about the evidence base behind drug therapy (ie that the “ chemical imbalance” idea is bunk and invented by pharma companies, that many have serious side effects and can be very hard to quit, that sometimes, they don’t work any better than placebo), while also emphasizing that these drugs CAN work incredibly well for many people
Ye strikes me as both unmedicated and unmeditated.
The idea that great art comes from suffering also needs to die. Art comes from people! People shouldn’t have to suffer to express themselves!
I really hate this pervasive idea that mental health meds “numb” you. If your mental health meds are numbing you, your having a very very bad reaction to that medicine and need to change. People done advocate for the right meds because it’s so often said that your SUPPOSED to feel numb and blank on antipsychotics and antidepressants. Also as someone with extremely bad mental health, being scared of meds that literally keep me functioning at all is very frustrating.
I’m not familiar with him as an artist but really appreciate him saying this, as someone with a close relation with bipolar who has found stability with medication. I think men particularly need to see more men discussing mental illness
I’m not too familiar with this gentleman and his art but I can say I am proud of him for being open about his mental health and his experience with medication.
In the age of technology there is still such a misunderstanding about mental disorders.
For anyone who doesn’t know who Yung Lean is he helped popularize emo/soundcloud rap in the early 2010s. He was just a 15 year old Swedish kid when he blew up so he’s definitely gone through shit.
A lot of my clinical work has involved unhoused folks and foster youth with mental illness and psychosis who have extremely unstable access to medication and support. I will always respect a patients right to refuse treatment, but the horrors I have seen due to untreated psychosis are awful (really terrible physical injuries due to risky behavior mid-psychosis, self-medicating with hard drugs and alcohol leading to severe addiction, complete destruction of family relationships, cycles of incarceration, etc.).
Any destigmatization of today’s humane treatments* is positive as far as I’m concerned.
*Important note given our history of deeply inhumane treatment of the mentally ill.