Pete Townshend opened up about his crippling "chemical depression" in a new interview with The Sunday Times; however, The Who guitarist stopped seeing a therapist decades ago.
“After the third year, I realised that the woman counselling me had only said about three words. I was just listening to myself,” he explained. “So now I just write journals. Every morning I rebuild myself in a sense with tea and coffee, and a few vitamin pills.”
“When I first wake up I’m suicidal, actually suicidal,” he admitted before revealing that waking up in the early hours of the morning, between 2-5am, helps with his mindset because he's “still in the state that I was the day before.”
“I have a couple of cups of tea, two digestive biscuits — apparently equal to 17 sugar lumps — and I feel happy,” Townshend shared. “If I start my journals before I have my cup of tea, I’ll paint a very bleak picture of my life. Despite the fact that I have everything that I want and everything that I need … And I have had a really extraordinary life.”
He was also mindful to mention that what works for him doesn't work for everybody. “I think because of social media in particular, the way that we carelessly share not only our anxieties but also perhaps our solutions,” Townshend added. “We’re a bit careless about that because what works for me won’t necessarily work for you.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, there is help. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7 by dialing "988," reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting "HOME" to 741741, or visit 988lifeline.org.