Zach Bryan opens up on his mental health struggles and “toxic relationship with booze”
Zach Bryan has shared a candid statement on his mental health, opening up on panic attacks, as well as revealing he has not drank alcohol in almost two months due to his “toxic relationship with booze”.
Bryan began his message by telling fans, “I wanted to share this because I feel like a lot of people go through mental struggles at times and feel alone in them, which leads plenty to suffer in silence.”
He also said, “I hope it helps someone struggling to find words when they’re down on their luck.”
Over the last 12 months, Bryan has endured several controversies, including his public breakup from Brianna LaPaglia, scaling the fence at a festival to confront Gavin Adcock, and receiving backlash from the White House for criticising ICE on a snippet of an unreleased track.
The singer-songwriter, who broke the record for the largest ticketed event in US history in September, began his note by revealing that he recently spent 20 days on a motorcycling and camping trip “looking for a solution”, which led him to realise, “I really need some fucking help.”
He then reflected on his unexpected rise to fame, sharing, “Being in the military for a decade and then thrown into a spotlight that I hadn’t fully comprehended the scope of, had some subconscious effects on me as a person.” Bryan also frankly admitted, “I was not content, but I also feared showing weakness because that’s not who I am or how I was raised. To charge forward and never settle was the motto.”
Bryan explained how this put him in “perpetual discontent that led me to always reaching for alcohol” to fill a “consistent black hole in me”.
The ‘Something In The Orange’ singer then alluded to his slew of controversies, sharing, “I have been lied about and doxxed on the internet, I was helping a close friend through a severe mental break, one of my other best friends was put into a coma by a motorcycle accident, and I was touring the country playing five, sometimes six, nights a week.”
Bryan then revealed he was suffering from “earth-shattering panic attacks” which he described as “paralyzing”. Despite previously believing he could “tough anything out” due to having the “money I always longed for” and “great friends” around him, he sought help from a therapist.
He also made the “conscious decision to do something about my toxic relationship with booze and how I cope with major life changes” and hasn’t drank alcohol for almost two months. “I needed to see the world objectively,” Bryan added of his sobriety.
Bryan continued, “My family supported every step I took. Conversations about the future, kids one day, my health and Sammy’s (Bryan’s girlfriend Samantha Leonard) happiness made me prioritize not only myself, but my entire family.”
He added, “I feel great, I feel content, I feel whole,” before encouraging fans to speak up, saying, “If you or any of your friends are too tough, too scared, or too stubborn to reach out, know that the most stubborn dumbass on the planet did and didn’t regret it”
Bryan concluded his note, “I don’t believe in absolutes. One day maybe, I’ll learn to control my habits, but for now; I just want to say it is okay to be weak at times and need help. God speed everyone! I pray this helps somebody.”
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