Famous Last Words: Your Mental Health is First

Rest in peace, Mac Miller (1992-2018)

(Source: Vulture)

Some of you may or may not know that Mac Miller, a legendary music artist, recently passed away due to a drug overdose. Mac is an artist that I have listened to since I was in junior high and still listen to to this day. He had struggled with addiction throughout his life and the impact his struggle had on his life was actually one of the reasons why his girlfriend, famous singer, Ariana Grande left him. While I don't want to take away from the tragedy of Mac's passing, there has been a lot of backlash on his ex-girlfriend, Ariana, for leaving him when she could no longer bear the burden that Mac's own battle with his mental health and substance abuse put on her life, as she once tweeted “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be,” she wrote. “I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety and prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course).” 

While some may see Ariana leaving Mac as a heartless or selfish act, I want to use this situation as a way to let others know that it is okay to walk away from someone that is destroying your life (not that Ariana said that that is what Mac did to her). It is okay to walk away from someone that you can not help or someone that it is not your responsibility to help, especially when it means having to sacrifice your own mental and physical well-being to do so. That is not to say that you should leave that person without helping them if you can by doing things like notifying their loved ones or a professional of the situation that they are in or directing them to resources or help other than yourself, but when someone else's issues are degrading the quality of your life, it is okay to put yourself first. I have read too many stories of men and women who lost their lives or were pressured to stay in an abusive environment due to their fear of someone they love hurting themselves, but sometimes it is just not worth hurting yourself. You have not spent your entire life building yourself up to let one person make you throw it all away. I will always advocate for people to be selfish if it better their ability to help others later on.