May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Billboard has compiled a list of 80 artists who have gone public with their mental health struggles.

Among them are Bruce Springsteen, Rick Springfield, Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Janet Jackson, Alanis Morissette, Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran, Jennifer Lopez, Julie Andrews, and Sinead O’Connor.

Here's what some of them went through:

Bruce Springsteen: "I have come close enough to [mental illness] where I know I am not completely well myself...

“I’ve had to deal with a lot of it over the years, and I’m on a variety of medications that keep me on an even keel; otherwise, I can swing rather dramatically and … just … the wheels can come off a little bit. So we have to watch, in our family. I have to watch my kids, and I’ve been lucky there. It ran in my family going way before my dad.”

Rick Springfield, who tried to hang himself when he was 16: “Having suicide ride on my shoulders was not a lot of fun through a lot of my life and surviving that was a real high point for me. Once puberty hit, I was pretty much skimming along the bottom, and I am (now) living long enough to understand how to deal with it.”

Duff McKagan: In 2023, in an open letter, he wrote that he "dealt with a certain variety of panic disorder” since he was 16. Then during the pandemic things changed. "My panic disorder has morphed and twisted and brought along some darkness that seems to appear out of absolutely nowhere. It can be terrifying...

"I have thankfully found my acoustic guitar as a refuge. If I just hold on to that guitar, play chords and hum melodies, I can start to climb my way out of that hole. For those of you who have never experienced something like this, count yourselves blessed. To those of you who recognize what I am talking about: YOU ARE NOT ALONE!”

Alanis Morissette: “I wasn’t sure if I would have post-partum depression/anxiety this time around (after her third child). Or, as I like to call it: post-partum activity. Or, also: post-partum tar-drenched trenches.

“Hormonal. Sleep deprivation. Fogginess. Physical pain. Isolation. Anxiety. Cortisol. Recovery from childbirth (as beautiful and intense as mine was at home, dream birth.), integrating new angel baby with older angel babies. Marriage. All kinds of PTSD triggers. … PPD is still a sneaky monkey with a machete.”

Mariah Carey - diagnosed as bipolar: “I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me. It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health or substance abuse disorders, reach out to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's national helpline 24/7 at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) for confidential treatment referrals and information.

For those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and/or distress, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by calling or texting 988, which will connect you to trained counselors for confidential support.

Bret Saunders