Kanye West - ye & Kids See Ghosts (June 1 & 8 2018) Album • Page 238

I think it’s beyond disengenous to act like he told people they shouldnt take meds. He just said he’s choosing not to take meds, and y’all probably don’t wanna hear this, but he has a point, I have not made any music all year basically because my meds stifle creativity. I’m not giving Kanye a pass on anything else but come on. We need to evolve our language when talking about mental health because this ain’t it

 

My bad, I misread it and I realize my tone came across the wrong way

 

Medication impacts different people in different ways....

 

fuck this tweet

 

The way Kanye talks about “freedom” and has been talking about being “free”, I fear he likely believes no one should take medication. That’s an inference I’m making from his tone and what I know of him, though, not something that I’ve seen him say anywhere specifically.

 

No. It's possible to be on meds and still be creative. Kanye is strongly implying that anyone on meds is categorically incapable of making great art. Kids might read this shit and avoid getting the help they desperately need.

 

“I cannot be on meds” isn’t really implying anything

 

I love the time of year when Kanye talks about mental health and everyone becomes a psychiatrist

 

I wish there were any doctors involved with this, people are gonna take Kanye's word as gospel no matter what stance he takes and I've seen him say a a lot about mental health but never "consult a professional this is serious stuff that I'm not qualified to speak about".

 

It is possible for meds to affect your creativity. It has happened to me. You gonna tell me I’m wrong?

 

You're not wrong. My point is that it's dangerous for someone with a platform like Kanye's to be talking about these issues in the manner that he does, as it only attaches even more stigma to meds. It's not helpful. As I said before, some people may read his tweets and put off getting help.

 

okay but that tweet literally says “meds don’t sap creativity.” they do for some people. it’s dangerous to invalidate other people’s experiences with meds, just as it’s dangerous to tell other people to not take meds (something Kanye didn’t do).

 

I’m also not sure how I feel about the subtext that Kanye, someone with mental health issues, shouldn’t speak on his own real life experience with his mental health because his experience isn’t pro-medication. I think he has every right to speak about what his experience has been

 

I think its very possible for someone with mental health issues to say some dangerous shit about mental health, whether they know it or not. And someone with a massive platform like Kanye, even tho he isn't directly saying hey everyone out there with mental health don't take medication, him saying that medication killed his creativity is definitely going to be seen as an endorsement for not taking any meds, potentially by a lot of impressionable kids that might really need meds. Again, Kanye is not directly advocating against all medication, but he is also not directly saying hey this is only my experience and you should consult a professional, its going to be different for everyone. There's a ton of nuance here and he's speaking incredibly black and white.

This shit reminds me of, strangely, Jeff Tweedy, who talks very openly in his book about his addiction to painkillers, his painful rehab process, and the fucked up people who tell him he needs to be back on drugs and off medication to make music they like again. That kind of thinking that ties pain and illness to good art is hugely damaging to both people who have recovered from their issues and people who need help and don't want to get it out of fears that something in them will change. Kanye connecting his best output only to not being on medication is hugely fucked up, there are so many more factors and even if some medication may inhibit creativity, this shit can be read as encouraging creative people to not seek help or risk losing their creativity.

There are many paths, different reactions for different people, and we are still barely beginning to scratch the surface of the conversation of serious discussions on mental health.

 

Kanye can and should speak on his mental health experience. Responsibly. I do not trust him to do so.

 

Feel like a lot of the talk in here about Kanye’s mental health tweets would be very very different if he wasn’t stumping for Trump all summer. Just an observation. Feel like people are invalidating his experience or thoughts about it over “politics”.

 

Forgive me if I'm not as lenient as you are about a guy who aligns himself with the xenophobic, transphobic, anti-environmental, anti-worker policies of Trump/the Republican Party:

Also, you're wrong anyway. This is nothing to do with his shitty politics. Anyone with a platform as ridiculously big as Kanye's has a moral obligation to talk about mental health issues responsibly whether they like it or not.

 

Continue to validate people’s experiences based on if and how they align with your own. Really makes you sound genuine.

 

Chance out here too with the "you're depressed have you gone outside" kind of talk.

Edit: Chance's manager, my bad

 

Fyi that's not Chance

 

Lol my bad just noticed, that thread is still absolutely a mess

 

How can we expect someone to talk responsibly about mental health if they are still working their own mental health out. Yes, he has a big platform, but that does not remove the human element of how fucking difficult it is for all of us to grapple with these issues.

 

EXACTLY. Kanye's said a lot of dumb things recently, but I don't think this is something he deserves flack for. Expecting someone currently struggling with mental illness to always say the most responsible thing about that struggle isn't realistic. Yes, he is a person with a big platform... but he is first and foremost an individual, and his own mental health struggles are still real and shouldn't be invalidated because of the platform he has. I'm someone who definitely feels that Kanye needs to be more mindful of the impact his words have, but when he's speaking about his own personal struggles, I think he deserves to have a bit more leeway.

 

you can point out Kanye’s politics all you want. but by invalidating his mental health experience your invalidating everyone who’s had the same experience as him. don’t do that.