Black Sabbath bassist-lyricist Geezer Butler cut himself to “get relief” from melancholy.
He has openly discussed his mental health struggles and how he self-harmed to avoid thinking about it.
“Nobody understood. In an interview with Uncut magazine, he remarked, “You’d go to the doctor and he’d say, ‘Go and have a couple of pints’ or, ‘Go and walk the dog.'”
“I thought, ‘Well, that’s not helping me. Nobody discussed or understood it. I felt depression was natural and cut myself to feel better.
“I slashed myself so severely I couldn’t stop the blood. When I was depressed, I couldn’t talk to anyone, so people thought I was cranky. “People thought I was miserable,” he added.
Geezer’s sadness persisted despite his wealth.
Geezer wrote “Paranoid” about mental health for the Ozzy Osbourne-fronted heavy metal band, which became a tremendous success. It wasn’t until a long time later that he sought therapy and has been on several meds since.
The 73-year-old artist said: “Then I composed the song ‘Paranoid’ which is all about mental health problems and it wasn’t until decades after that that I went to the doctor and they gave me medicines. After a breakdown, an American doctor prescribed Prozac. Depression lifted after six weeks. I’ve used numerous medications since.”
“Paranoid” was the band’s first UK number one, coupled with “13” in 2013.
“I loved the album’s success,” he remarked. You have a No. 1 record and lots of money, so why are you depressed? No of your income or work satisfaction, it’s like a sickness.
“When you’re in it you don’t believe you’ll get out. I’d enter this huge black hole. It makes you forget daily life. Depressed people were considered antisocial and unpleasant.
