Ginuwine Opens Up About His Battle with Depression and Thoughts of Suicide
"A lot of times, men like to keep stuff in and that’s the worst thing that you can do," the musician shared.
Ginuwine has had a successful music career for some 25 years and his latest gig has him participating in an exciting New York theater show, Your Husband Is Cheating on Us. But, life behind-the-scenes hasn't always been easy for the artist.
Speaking candidly to The Grio, Ginuwine opened up about some of his past struggles. The musician lost his father to suicide in 1999; a year later, his mother died of cancer. Following the devastating events, Ginwuine tried using drugs and alcohol to cope while falling into a deep depression. And at a certain point, he even attempted suicide.
Now, the R&B singer is passionate about breaking down the taboo surrounding mental illness. When asked about rapper Bow Wow's recent comments about suicide — which raised some red flags for fans — Ginuwine said: "When you don’t talk and hold so much hurt inside, you start thinking ‘Maybe I shouldn’t be here.’ My dad committed suicide so that’s close to my heart to fight against. Anytime someone is speaking that way, we shouldn’t take it lightly because you never know what’s on a person’s heart or in a person’s mind. We have to pay attention,” he said.
He added: "A lot of times, men like to keep stuff in and that’s the worst thing that you can do. I always tell younger guys that the best thing to do is to talk about it and I try to be open for people to talk to because once you’re gone, you’re gone. There’s no coming back from that.”
Ginuwine is not the only male celebrity who's been frank about depression and suicide in recent weeks.
Dwayne Johnson recently opened up about a traumatizing time in his own life, when his mother Ata attempted suicide in front of him. "We both healed but we've always got to do our best to pay attention when other people are in pain," the actor told CNN. "We have to help them through it and remind them they are not alone."
Tyrese has also spoken up about similar issues. The model and actor recently exhibited some erratic behavior in an online video, and later explained that his actions were triggered by drugs he was taking to treat depression.
