5SOS Star Ashton Irwin Battles Depression With Relentless Positivity
5 Seconds Of Summer star Ashton Irwin, at 21-years-old, is the oldest and arguably wisest member of the band. With a hit album under their belt, support slots with One Direction in their past and a headline arena tour underway, things look good for 5SOS. Just a couple of weeks ago, Irwin and his pals dropped a surprise new single, “She’s Kinda Hot,” on their fans and, to date, it has been viewed over 11 million times. Yesterday, 5SOS announced that their sophomore album, Sounds Good, Feels Good, will be released on October 23.
It is easy to assume that the fame and fortune that comes with a successful music career means that artists like Irwin live life on easy street. Sadly, for many people, success comes at a very high price. It is a well-established fact that high achieving and creative people often suffer from depression. Irwin is the latest in a very long line of musicians to admit that he suffers from depression and anxiety.
Ashton recently told the Sydney Morning Herald that he had “dealt with anxiety and depression in my life,” but it seems that Irwin is determined that some good will come out of his painful experiences. Irwin says that he hopes that 5SOS’s music can help the band’s fans to deal with their own struggles.
Irwin says that the band’s success offers “a really cool opportunity for us to spread a bigger message than just music. With our next album we want to sort of have more messages for life involved in what we do because we have a voice for young people.”
According to MTV, Ashton works hard to be positive, and he uses his Twitter as platform to promote positivity and to share encouraging and insightful words of advice with anyone amongst his five million followers who may be feeling down.
A quick scan of Ashton’s Twitter feed reveals numerous caring, insightful, and positive posts. Ashton acknowledges that some days are tough, but urges fans to “focus on everything great in life.”
Some days your head will be a whirlpool of depression and anxiety! In those days you gotta breath & focus on everything great in life!
— Ashton Irwin (@Ashton5SOS) August 5, 2015
Ashton asks his fans to live in the moment and to find joy in the simple things in life.
You aren't on your own!!! You can find the greatest things in life in the smallest and simplest things, you just gotta take a moment
— Ashton Irwin (@Ashton5SOS) August 5, 2015
Ashton is clearly trying to use his own experiences to help others suffering from anxiety and depression. Ashton Irwin may only be 21-years-old, but he is clearly approaching depression in a very mature and helpful manner. By tackling his own depression with relentless positivity, Irwin will potentially help untold numbers of his young fans to deal with their own issues.
[Image via Sugarscape.com]
