Singer Janet Jackson has been struggling with depression for years. The pop icon has dealt with the negative thoughts that came with her by the birth of her son Eissa Al Mana (2).
In conversation with the magazine Essence, 52-year-old Jackson talks about her depressed years. “I struggled with depression, it was intense.”
In the summer issue of the magazine, the singer continues the difficult years that lie behind her. Jackson says thirty-something to suffer from little self-confidence and self-esteem. According to her, these feelings were possible because of her childhood, the impossibly high standards she could not meet and sexism and racism.
Even as forty she says she often had self-undermining thoughts that drove her to despair. Eventually, Jackson says she has found her happiness and peace. “I am happy when I have my son in my arms and when I look into his laughing eyes,” she says.
“Or when I kiss him or go to sleep, there is happiness everywhere during such moments, I am grateful to God for that, I thank God for my life, my zest for life and the opportunity to grow in love.”