Katy Perry Wants to Lift the Stigma Surrounding Depression — And Does the Exact Opposite
By: Judith Valentijn
Tags: Mental Health, Mental Illness, Psychology, Depression, Antidepressants

Katy Perry Wants to Lift the Stigma Surrounding Depression — And Does the Exact Opposite

“I am so grateful I am not a drug addict”

Photo by Christina Victoria Craft on Unsplash

When her album flopped in 2017, Katy Perry struggled with depression. Last Friday, she was a guest on the JMO Confidential Podcast and spoke candidly about lifting the stigma surrounding depression.

It is important that celebrities use their platform to normalize talking about mental health. Unfortunately, Katy Perry made a very unhelpful comment about medication and implied that people who use pharmaceuticals are drug addicts.

I typed out the relevant parts of the interview below:

Katy Perry: “There were some pretty dark days, and I think that was pretty evident on my last record, what I was going through publicly and it was pretty intense. I became very depressed, more depressed than I had been in the past. In the past, I was able to just kinda brush it off my shoulders and write a song about it, and get on with my life, and this time I couldn’t get out of bed. And so I had to do some real hard work, around that, and why, and dig really deep. So I’ve been on a real wellness journey the past couple of years. ( . . . )”

Jonathon Moran: “Wellness, do you mean meditation? For me, I’ve been very open about my depression over the years, like very open, and suicide attempts and things like that, and I am really strong now. I feel that me being open about it is a way to give back to people and show that you can go through — ”

Katy Perry: “Yeah, that’s what the music is really about. A lot of it is about that. I’m definitely really open about it and I want to take the stigma off of talking about it. ( . . . ) I’ve always been on a journey of health and wellness, mentally especially, being in such an intense industry, and the things it does to your mind. But I went on a journey to adopt some good tools so I didn’t have to lean so far into pharma, I’m so grateful I’m not a drug addict.”

She goes on to explain that she uses tools like meditation, childhood trauma therapy, and talking about feelings to cope with her depression.

You can listen to the interview yourself here. After 8 minutes she starts talking about pharmaceuticals.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that Katy Perry has found a way to deal with her demons, but why does she seem to throw people who use medication under the bus? Why does she imply that medication isn’t a good tool in dealing with depression? Why does she choose to use the word “drug addict” when she talks about pharmaceuticals?

Sometimes it feels like you are welcome to talk about depression, but only if it is the right “brand” of depression. The one you can get rid of by meditation, long walks in nature, yoga, and memorizing 25 inspirational quotes by an indie author.

Not all people with depression are the same

We all know the trite mental health tools: have a set sleep schedule, eat healthy food, exercise, drink enough water, meditate, go to therapy, and so on. These things will give you a good foundation to deal with your depression.

For some people that is enough. Other people need antidepressants to reduce symptoms and prevent relapses. Some people take medication temporarily, others are on them for life. None of these people are drug addicts because they “lean into pharma”.

As the stigmas surrounding mental illness slowly becomes less, statements like Katy Perry’s make the stigmas surrounding medication worse.

She overcame her depression through therapy, meditation, music, and the support of her partner. She did this without using medication. Great for her, but not all depressed people are the same.

Why Katy’s comment is unhelpful

Depression has many different faces. What feels like rock bottom for one person, can feel like an off-day for the next. There have been countless studies about the best treatment for depression, and there is no method that works for everybody.

In general, the combination of therapy and medication gives the best results. For me, therapy did the trick and I never took medication. There are many people like me, who’ll overcome depression without using medication. What works for me, doesn’t have to work for you though. And most people who deal with depression, improve greatly after taking medication.

However, taking medication always comes with a risk. Even a simple paracetamol tablet can have side effects. Antidepressants can make symptoms worse, and even lead to death. But because they also save lives, the benefits far exceed the risks.

And this is why we need to get rid of the stigma surrounding medication. The decision to start meds can be a difficult one, and I strongly believe doctors should be cautious with prescribing antidepressants too quickly.

To be able to make an informed decision about medication, it is detrimental to not be painted as “weak” or as a drug addict.

If you are contemplating to start using medication, you need to be pretty strong not to be influenced by a global pop star boasting about how happy she is for not being a drug addict and how meditation cured her depression.

Maybe antidepressants aren’t for you, just like they weren’t for me and Katy Perry. That’s fine. But can we please give people the space to use antidepressants, without implying they are weak? After all, suicide rates have dropped since the introduction of SSRI antidepressants. If taking meds gets you out of bed or keeps you alive, you shouldn’t be judged for it.