Seerd Addresses Exploding Mental Health Epidemic and the Stigma Dismissing It

American Rock Band Seerd Addresses Exploding Mental Health Epidemic and Stigma Dismissing It – “Sound” Advice – Music as Therapy

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, August 15, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — “It’s just your anxiety.” Those four dismissive words torment and crush the spirit of mental health sufferers worldwide, fanning the flames of an unquenchable hopelessness leading many to suicide. Approximately 31% of all Americans have some form of anxiety disorder and eight million deaths are attributable to mental disorders annually worldwide, as reported by the National Institute of Health. Those numbers are staggering when considering they are ‘reported’ figures.

Discussing the newly released single “Love and Enemy”, Kayla Shamlin, American recording artist and vocalist for rock band SEERD got personal. “I’ve struggled with my mental health for over eight years now. I was diagnosed as a freshman in high school with a generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, depression, ADHD, and so on. The never-ending feeling of hopelessness and helplessness, with no one who understood, bound me with a mental straight jacket. Experiencing frequent panic attacks weekly for years, and without explanation, led me to seek a psychiatrist and counseling. I entered a revolving door of antidepressants and other medications that were supposed to help, but only made things worse. My dad suggested to instead try music as therapy. To release some pressure by putting my messed-up feelings, emotions, intense anxiety, frustration, and anger into lyrics like he has been doing for years. I wrote down everything I was feeling. Then he arranged it into lyrics, added a melody and it cathardically became our latest single, ‘Love and Enemy’.

Shamlin spoke freely about the beginning of her experiences. “In high school, I used to go to my best friend for help when I was feeling down or anxious. Four agonizing years later, I finally realized that this person was not the person to talk with about my problems. Let’s just call this person Ash because that’s what they turned me into. Every time I had anxiety or a panic attack and told Ash, I was met with, “I have anxiety too, and this is why,” always dismissing me. I’d tell myself that others just had it worse, and I should be grateful. This later created additional problems by helping to shape how I perceived myself and the world around me. I’ve had to work very hard to fix what Ash broke. I still have a hard time expressing my feelings because I’m afraid to hear those words again. I was afraid to lose Ash, thinking my life would be much worse without this person in it. Being able to write and sing my feelings, ‘Love and Enemy’ returned a sense of power and independence. This song is everything I felt and wanted to say but couldn’t.”

Curtis Shamlin, Kayla’s father, and co-vocalist for SEERD, also fought the war with anxiety and struggled for many years, but he overcame. “To us, suffering from anxiety can range from the feeling of a violent attack to a slow agonizing death – fueled by not being heard, being dismissed, or labeled, to paranoia. We need to erase the humiliating stigma that is attached to ‘anxiety’ and other types of mental illness. We are sick. Yeah, I said it, sick. Anyone with mental illness should be afforded the same dignity and respect that is given to anyone suffering from a physical illness. The stigma is not rational or logical and we need to address this.”

Curtis pulled back the layers on the problem. “People suffering from anxiety and depression don’t want to talk to anyone or even go outside, much less see a doctor or take the time to answer surveys. They fear they will be deemed nuts because everyone in their orbit already thinks they are. Instead of providing respect or compassion, it’s a sign of ‘weakness’ and people automatically dismiss what is being said, and affix a label. When diagnosed with mental illness, doctors often dismiss symptoms that may be from another, or a physical illness, which leads to a higher possibility of missing other illnesses, or misdiagnosis. Just because you have diabetes, doesn’t mean you can’t get cancer or suffer from anxiety or depression simultaneously. One illness doesn’t cancel out or prevent another. ‘No, this is not my anxiety…this is something different,’ gets someone brushed aside and straight into absurd shame and silence. I was once stuck in that helpless and hopelessness pit, until one Sunday… I found my way out of the mental straight jacket. Through my own experience, I learned that we must be able to talk about mental health and have the ability to express our feelings without being dismissed or shunned. Keeping things bottled – leads to a burst. We are experiencing this in America today with the rise in school shootings, increase in suicide rates, anxiety, depression…it’s time to address this.”

Standing outside the trenches, Curtis and Kayla Shamlin share ‘sound’ advice; “We don’t pretend to know all the answers, but we do know what is working for us. We’ve both tried everything the doctors prescribed and advised. We didn’t find the solution in a pill or even at the bottom of a bottle. We looked for and found what triggered and triggers our anxiety. Both our treatment and relief valve is music. Our music can be aggressive and angry at times, but so is the rollercoaster of emotions that is poured into our lyrics. We believe the number of people suffering from mental illness today is much higher than reported nationally. To those who are also struggling, we reccommend asking and answering three questions: What is my true issue? and What, or who, is causing it? The answer to both may be ‘Love and Enemy’. What will be my release valve? Music is what we have found to help. Start with SEERD.

Watch the new music video, “Love and Enemy,” and hear this emotionally raw song about Mental Illness and Toxic Relationships on: YouTube @SEERD. https://youtu.be/XjHqKD_y89c and at: https://seerd.hearnow.com. This hot new video is additionally available at: My Music Video Channel Sarosa TV Network (ROKU and Amazon), ROCKTV MIX Channel (Roku), The Chubb Show, NC – OK TV – Germany, Video Mix TV -WIMP DTV Channel(FL),The In Crowd2 – Rock & Alternative, WNYMP Inc. / UPFRONT TV / The Connection, The Vault (Time Warner/ Charter Comm/ Vision), Zero Hour Squared (Comcast), WCBTN Supa Mix (DISH/ DirecTV), the Hype Show- KDBC TV (CBS), No Hit Videos (Public Access), and The Metal Mag.

Keep up with all the latest on SEERD on social media and on Muzicswipe where they’ve reached #14 on the Top Swipe 100. More at Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seerd_official/, Twitter: https://twitter.com/SEERDband and Facebook: https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087119163449.

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SEERD “Love and Enemy” (Official Music Video).