Michael Jackson - Mental Health, Childhood Trauma & Drugs
Michael Jackson or the ‘King of Pop’ is arguably one of the greatest musician that ever lived. He was a record producer, actor, dancer, songwriter and singer. He was well known for his pop music and phenomenal dance skills; but also equally well known for his uncertain mental health, eccentric adult life and drug use.
Michael Jackson or the ‘King of Pop’ is arguably one of the greatest musicians that ever lived. He was a record producer, actor, dancer, songwriter and singer. He was well known for his pop music and phenomenal dance skills; but also equally well known for his uncertain mental health, eccentric adult life and drug use.
Michael Jackson was given birth to on the 29th of August 1958 to Mrs. Katherine Esther Scruse and Mr. Joseph Walter “Joe” Jackson. He grew up in Gary, Indiana in their family house. He had 9 siblings, 7 of whom were senior to him. In 1965, he joined his father’s band, the Jackson Brothers as a backup singer. The group’s name later changed to Jackson 5 in 1966.
Michael Jackson dived into film and songwriting in 1982. He wrote a part of the song “Someone in the Dark” for the Extra-Terrestrial. In 1982, he also released his thriller album which up till today has the record of having highest sales in the whole world in 1983. His singles and albums won him a lot of awards some of which include: longest run of an album staying 37 weeks at number one with his thriller album and spending 80 weeks consecutively in Billboard 200 top 10 amongst many others
Michael Jackson went on to release more hit albums like Bad in 1987, Dangerous in 1991, Invincible in 2001 and more. Michael wasn’t just confined to the recording studio, embarking on some tours including ‘MJ and Friends’ in 1999, ‘History World’ tour (1996-1997), ‘Dangerous’ World Tour (1992-1993) and ‘Bad’ (1987-1989). Prior to his death, he was preparing for his last tour ever. The ‘This Is It’ tour was going to be Michael Jackson’s big farewell; but he never made it to his final tour, dying on 25th June 2009.
Michael Jackson and his Mental Health
Despite his fame and wealth, Michael Jackson’s life wasn’t all roses, having a series of troubles, one of which was suspected mental ill-health. Michael Jackson joined his father’s band at the age of 7. His father seemed to be a strict disciplinarian as he once stated that he was abused by his father. Their father trained them for their performances and once you missed a dance move or made any mistake, you were flogged. Michael Jackson’s inability to be able to please his father left a vacuum in him. It left him with the feeling that he was not good enough and that he could not please anybody; leading to significant impacts on his adult life (remember before his tragic death, a lot of us unashamedly called him ‘Wacko Jacko’).
One of trouble he had later was cases for sleeping with children in 1993 and in 2003. Furthermore, he got married and divorced twice to Lisa Marie Presley and Deborah Jeanne Rowe respectively. All of these events probably also further dented his self-esteem and believe in himself. This thus led to anxiety as he seemed to rely on drugs to be able to bring him to sleep. His first wife admitted to the stress from the 1st child abuse case having a mental effect on Michael Jackson which led to faltering health and drug addictions. She suggested that he should go for rehabilitation to recover.
If Michael didn’t go through the childhood experience of having a father that was hard to please, he wouldn’t have had to depend on drugs which later led to his death as he was reported to have died from cardiac arrest suspected to be as a result of the use of overdose of drugs. Furthermore, if he had gone through rehabilitation earlier, he may have been able to deal with his anxiety; instead of seeking relief through drugs.
The Tragedy of Michael Jackson's Death
The tragic story of Michael Jackson is not uncommon, with a lot of people turning to drugs and alcohol to numb their pain. It is unclear if Michael Jackson had any diagnosed mental illness, however his reliance of drugs and his terrible, abusive upbringing; are an indicator that he needed help. Perhaps because of his celebrity status, the idea of this icon seeking help for his inner demons was something that Michael Jackson couldn’t bring himself to do; for fear of the tabloids confirming what they all suspected of him. It is this kind of stigma towards mental illness that we as a society need to fight against, as seeking help is not a sign of weakness and you should never feel ashamed about it.
If you have pain inside of you, it is far better for you to seek help and speak to your GP or contact a qualified Counsellor or Psychologist. Counselling psychology can help you work through many of your most traumatic events, in a healthy, safe environment. We are currently taking new enrolments for our counseling clinic. We accept by private sign-ups and referrals through Medicare & private health insurance (please check with your private insurance to confirm coverage).