AceGawd

AceGawd is opening up to fans about his struggles with depression.

The Dancehall hotshot is only the latest entertainer to admit that he struggles with depression.

Although the deejay has traded a life of poverty for one filled with success and fame, that has not solved his depression issues.

According to the 22-year-old star, he has been battling with depression from as early as seven years old. He even at such a tender age he was fully aware that what he felt was not normal.

Even after attaining success as a recording artiste the deejay says he still has moments where he feels sad and alone, even in the midst of a crowd.

“Normally, I would find myself zoned out, even around my best of friends. Nothing was wrong with the company and nothing was wrong with the party or the vibe, I was just detached. I could be around a million people, I would still feel alone,” he told The Star.

“Music and talking to those I could trust about what I was going through really helped. Counselling also started for me from primary school, so even though I was telling my friends, I was still going to counselling. It’s important to talk to people and get things out. The pumped-up emotions can lead to a whole lot of trouble.”

The deejay went on to talk about the dangers of depression, including thoughts of suicide.

“Most persons who are depressed have suicidal thoughts because it gives you an empty kind of feeling. People who self-harm do it because dem feel numb and they want to feel again. They want a rush, and when they do that they get a high kinda feeling,” he explained.

The entertainer also warned of the dangers of leaving your issues unchecked.

“It 200 per cent better to face your issues than to hide them. When you hide things, that’s what it feeds off of. Yuh have mental and physical pain in depression. The physical pain will fade after a while ,but the mental pain keeps on coming back. If you don’t confront it, it a guh keep on haunt yuh and lead you to do something bad.”

AceGawd went on to explain why he believes celebrities are at a higher risk to suffer from depression than anyone else.

According to the deejay, it affects celebrities more as fans tend to forget that they are humans. He pointed out that they are often not able to enjoy the simple aspects of life due to their popularity.

The deejay who is best known for his smash hit “Mark X & Axio,” says he hopes to help others by investing in private counseling.

“Me wah invest inna some private counselling because me know the benefits of talking through your issues. As a dancehall artiste, dat will be my contribution. We nah sweep weh this matter again. As an artiste, we affi show the good and the bad side of everything. Some nuh wah do dat. Dem wah yuh see dem a pop champagne pan balcony all the time, and a nuh dat alone to this. This life nuh perfect, because me know fi a fact nuff artiste a go chu hell.”