Billie Eilish Part Two

With the recent release of her Apple TV+ documentary “The World’s A Little Blurry” and two more Grammys under her belt as of last week, 18-year-old music sensation Billie Eilish has certainly resurfaced on everyone’s radars. Throughout her rapid rise to fame, Eilish has been incredibly transparent about her mental and physical health throughout interviews, her music, of course, and now the documentary. She has shared the plethora of challenges she’s faced and still faces, some since her rise to fame, others her whole life. Eilish has struggled with depression, anxiety, and self-harm since the age of 13, following having to give up her first passion - dance - after a devastating injury. She has also spoken out in interviews, such as those with Vogue and Rolling Stone, about her Tourette syndrome, body dysmorphia, and separation anxiety, all of which made her feel sensitive, abnormal, and uncomfortable in her skin and thus only fueled her mental distresses. Like so many of us have likely thought, Eilish often “didn’t think that [she] would be happy again.” Lucky for her and all of us, Eilish embraced it all in her music. “The least I can do is make the art that I make because I have the same problems [as fans]. I feel this dark thing very strongly. So, why would I not talk about them?” she said in her documentary. For instance, Eilish used the panic attacks and night terrors that she started to experience when her fame set in as the premise of her debut album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” Last year, she spoke up about the darker content and inspiration of her songs and their hopefully positive effects in an interview with Rolling Stone: “Songs about being depressed or suicidal or completely just against yourself – some adults think that’s bad, but I feel that seeing that someone else feels just as horrible as you do is a comfort. It’s a good feeling. It’s someone to scream with.” As far as general mental health advice, Ellish emphasizes patience: “I had patience with myself. I didn’t take that last step. I waited.” So while we wait, let’s take a page from Billie’s Book, or should I say Billie’s song, and all scream together.