Keri Hilson recently opened up about her battle with depression and her hiatus from her music career. The singer/songwriter shared that she would literally cry onstage while she battled depression during a panel discussion in Atlanta.
Silence the Shame, an initiative that aims to end stigmas connected to mental health, recently held a panel discussion in Atlanta, where Hilson opened up about her career and battle with depression. The "Pretty Girl Rock" singer said she was not herself even though she was at the height of her career.
"When 'Pretty Girl Rock' was at the top of the charts… I was bearing the weight of some personal and professional mistakes, and they just weighed so so so heavy on my spirit, and I was just not myself," she said.
Hilson shared that she had also just ended an 11-year relationship when she struggled with personal and professional issues.
"It all just kind of spiraled for me, and became something I had never been through, I had never recognized myself as a person who can’t pick themselves back up," she said. "I was literally onstage crying."
Hilson said that she initially asked to take a year off from her music career even though her management disapproved. She shared that she only did shows that felt "fulfilling" to her, which were mostly overseas, and that life became about "survival," not music.
"Life wasn’t about music anymore, life wasn’t about the charts or watching them," she said. "Life wasn’t about releasing music, shooting videos, writing songs, being in the studio, life was just about survival for me…"
As studies have shown the importance of therapy, particularly for black people who perpetually battle racism and economic disparities, among other injustices, Hilson shared that therapy has helped her healing process.
"Seven years of my life have been a battle with depression," she said. "And I can’t say that I’m all the way clear, but I’m in the clear."