Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan: ‘My Friends Are Dying and I Can’t Take That Anymore’
The topics of mental health and depression have come to the forefront after the recent suicide deaths of top rockers Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, and it's a subject that Slipknot percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan recently addressed during an interview with NME.
Crahan begins the talk stating, "My friends are dying and I can't take that anymore. Personally, I just want to say that I'm so saddened by the pain, the loneliness and the isolation. I'm not sure what happened. I'm not in people's minds, but it's a frightening thought to know that someone has something else on their mind that you don't know. I just want to say how sorry I am and how much love I have for the families of what's been going on recently."
From there, the Slipknot percussionist turned the topic to overcoming the stigma that some may have with feelings about depression. "To the general public, just remember the people around you. You might not know what they're thinking so it's always nice to be checked in on, and to check in on people," says Crahan. "What people need to know is that there are beautiful, wonderful people out there in the world who have empathy and work with the human condition. They understand what being 'sick' is. It's not a human being's fault to have chemical imbalances. We're just scared. The people who you think are the most solid are often the most hurt. That can be hard to wrap your head around."
As stated, Crahan had his own issues in the past. He recalls, "I'm not afraid to admit it. My mom died, and then Paul [Gray] died within a small time. I just went to my therapist and she just said, 'You're done,' so I went to become an outpatient and I was just so scared of that word 'Inpatient' and residential living, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, you know what I mean? I took my therapist and my wife's advice and I went on an outpatient program and it changed my f--king life. It saved the Clown's life."
"I was so underwater, drowning in that hole I created," adds Crahan. "They told me that I had no time to grieve my dad, then they told me I had no time to grieve my mom, then they told me I had no time to grieve Paul. I didn't even know that existed. I didn't know that I needed a certain amount of time. What the world needs to know is that it's okay to need help."
To read more of Crahan's thoughts on the matter, check here.
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