In the latest edition of Duff McKagan‘s column for SeattleWeekly.com, the Velvet Revolver / Loaded / ex-Guns N’ Roses bassist explored the topic of depression. Having never suffered clinical depression in his life, McKagan found himself in a dark mindset after Sept. 11, 2001, when the monumental terrorist attack on the World Trade Center changed McKagan for the worst.
McKagan begins his article with the line that surely everyone can relate to: “Once in a while, life can kick our asses.” He continues, “Some of us have the chemical makeup that can rise to the occasion of these ass-kickings. Some of us have a great network of family and friends that somehow help us through. Others of us perhaps have neither of those favorable winds at our back.”
McKagan writes about his once oblivious nature when it came to his friends’ battles with depression. “I had plenty of friends who did, but still I would scratch my head . . . and think to myself ‘Just snap out of it!’ … And then September 11, 2001 happened.”
The bassist continues, “Everything was suddenly fearful, and my own place on this earth seemed muddy and without bedrock. My daughters were 4 and 1, and suddenly my idealistic vision of being the perfect dad was acutely obscured by movements beyond my ability to control. I sunk into a thick, black state of being. Depression for the first time.”
McKagan wrote about his respect for Internet blogger Andrew Lawes and the writer’s bravery in sharing his dark times with the world, before McKagan concluded his article with the words, “There is a way out of depression — you just got to get to a place to examine the monster.”
Check out Duff McKagan’s full article at SeattleWeekly.com.
-Loudwire
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