Janet Jackson Opens Up About Her Battle With Depression, Thanks God for Happiness
Janet Jackson talked about how she victoriously kicked her "intense" depression out of her life.
In a heartfelt essay that she wrote for the July/August issue of Essence magazine that was reported by "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, the pop and R&B superstar opened up about the difficulties that she has to go through during her struggle with depression.
She revealed in the essay the things that made her happy when she was growing up. These include seeing her brothers, collectively known as the Jackson 5 at that time, return from their road shows, as well as feeling the love from her mother Katherine.
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But she admitted that she was not happy with her physical appearance when she was younger. She said that it would have helped if someone told her that she looked fine and reminded her to enjoy her childhood and stop comparing herself to others.
She also claimed that her misery grew with her into her adulthood.
"I struggled with depression. The struggle was intense ... Low self-esteem might be rooted in childhood feelings of inferiority. It could relate to failing to meet impossibly high standards. And of course there are always the societal issues of racism and sexism," the 52-year-old singer-songwriter wrote. "Put it all together and depression is a tenacious and scary condition. Thankfully, I found my way through it," Jackson added.
Jackson mentioned that welcoming her son Eissa Al Mana into her life when he was born in January 2017 was the happiest point in her life.
"When I kiss him. When I sing him softly to sleep. During those sacred times, happiness is everywhere," the "Doesn't Really Matter" singer stated. "Happiness is in gratitude to God. Happiness is saying, 'Thank you, God, for my life, my energy and my capacity to grow in love,'" she went on to say.
Jackson is scheduled to appear in the Essence Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana on Sunday, July 8, before she resumes her State of the World Tour later this year.
