Jessie Reyez: “Making a list of affirmations helped me with my depression”

Being an artist can be a lonely place sometimes

For Jessie Reyez, when tough times have come knocking she's always leaned on her mother and father for support. But that's not the only thing that has helped her when her mental health has been compromised. "I make a list of affirmations," says the singer/songwriter, who not only features twice on Eminem's new album, Kamikaze, but also wrote Calvin Harris and Dua Lipa's hit song "One Kiss". "It’s magic! You just write down a list and in that moment you've made a thought, a tangible one in a way, and it’s the first step to making it a reality. You just gave yourself a bullseye. "People all the time think, 'I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that,' and, 'I'm gonna do that in a year,' but the second you write it down you’re taking a step forward and you can then laser focus. And if you put it beside your bed so you can see it everyday it’ll help so much. It's helped me on multiple occasions. The shit is magic! It’s real for real." https://youtu.be/67vzn-F4-zU Explaining that this technique has helped her tackle various bouts of depression in the past, Jessie thinks it's something that needs to be taught so that future generations can learn how to manoeuvre their way through mental health struggles. "I wish they had it in schools as part of a curriculum to enforce how important mental health is," she begins. "With me, with other team mates, with friends, I’ve seen the difference that it makes and it’s something so basic. It really is a basic practice." Also listing hot yoga as a good way to combat depression and other forms of mental health issues, Jessie adds: "I’ve actually been doing it for a while but when shit gets kinda thick I make more time for it, which I shouldn’t do. I should keep it consistent. It’s like when you only go to the gym when you start seeing something messed up, you know? So I should be doing yoga everyday like I used to do." Jessie Reyez's new EP, Being Human in Public, is out now.