OVER THE BRIDGE is a non-profit with a mandate to raise awareness, provide education and build a community to support mental health and addiction recovery for musicians and members of the music industry.
OVER THE BRIDGE works to increase the awareness of addiction recovery and mental health, education, training, peer-to-peer and professional support resources to the North American music industry.
There are currently no known North American studies that focus on music industry substance use or mental illness; therefore we must look across the pond for those answers.
Help Musicians UK completed one such study, ‘Can Music Make You Sick?’ found that 68.5 percent of musicians believed they had experienced depression, while 71.1 percent believed they had experienced anxiety and panic attacks. These figures starkly contrast with the 19 percent of people in the UK, aged 16 or older, who had said they had experienced anxiety or depression, according to data from the Office for National Statistics gathered between 2010 and 2013.
While a study from Australia by Entertainment Assist revealed, those whose job it is to entertain the general public considered the possibility of su***de up to seven times more than the general population. Road crew members contemplated taking their own life almost nine times more than the general population.
These findings give people in the music industry some insight into the kind of unhealthy lifestyle the music industry can foster. We understand that some members of the music industry abuse a substance to manage the physical and mental expectations of the industry. Road-based separation anxiety, the uncertainty of daily life, financial instability, emotional ups and downs of show days, and lack of rest and nutrition all play a part. Often a person’s addiction and mental health are ignored or glorified.
Over The Bridge is of the opinion when the music industry is placed on the right track, and are given the training, education, and support, there is no limit to what they can achieve for themselves, or for the fans and culture of which they influence. Let’s talk together, work together and support each other.
YOU DON’T NEED TO SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO! #OTBtogether
OVER THE BRIDGE commits itself to the following goals:
Making it easier for the music industry to gain access to support resources
Respect, inform and involve the music industry in our research about addictions and mental health
Some priorities include:
Enhancing awareness of addiction and mental health education and support recourses by increasing alliances and collaborations
Generate addictions and mental health training and education opportunities at music festivals, wellness conferences, music venues, online, using public speaking opportunities, documentaries, videos, literature, and advertisements
Create financial, educational and marketing collaborative opportunities for organizations who share the same Over the Bridge vision.
