This is in an abridged version of an article first published  in full on Medium here, 24 April 2024

Musicians are one of the highest professions to suffer from a mental health disorder at some point in their lives. But does depression come from being in the spotlight, or does it help create the artist?

For David, 45-year-old solo singer and songwriter, a diagnosis of depression he received as a teen stole three years of his life.

“I started to become very ill in secondary school…between the ages of 16–19 I was a recluse and my mental health spiralled that bad that I never left the house for three years.

All I had at that time was music. Because I spent a lot of time on my own in my bedroom, I didn’t want to be involved in the world, but I always had music and the inspiration of music to keep me going… it was my friend… I could stay at home and put a song on and I felt like I was interacting with someone, that was my saviour.”

He has recently been diagnosed with OCD and Autism, which he appreciates as he now has an explanation for his being “different.”

His relationship with music has been a rather rocky one. He left his first band after two years “due to my depression and other people’s treatment of me”, and at 24, perused the pub circuit as a side hobby. But 6 months later, he stopped as “it was vey lonely doing it alone”, and didn’t sing for another 18 years “because my mental health told me to do that.”

Due to a drop in his mental health, “the buzz of music had gone”.

Lockdown 2021 resulted in a reevaluation of Dave’s life, and he decided to rekindle his passion.

He co-writes songs with a producer in New York, found through the lockdown mist on social media, has released three tracks, and is currently “in the process of starting up a new band.”

Dave vows he will “never give up music again. It helps me positively manage my mental health. I believe it is what I was put on this earth to do. It has been my saviour.”

Listen to an audio interview with David here