Jeezy has long been vocal about his mental health struggles, especially in the lead-up to the release of his new memoir, Adversity For Sale. Moreover, he recently appeared on The Tamron Hall Show on Monday (October 16) to speak on the book and his battle with depression. In fact, The Snowman recalled how he didn't even know he was suffering from the condition for almost a decade. Eventually, he came to reckon with his state of mind, and it's resulted in a lot of reflection. Most importantly, though, the rapper seems more prepared and committed than ever to help others along his journey, and become an example of its negative effects but also of every individual's strength to overcome it.
"I learned that vulnerability is power,” Jeezy remarked on the television program. “I thought something was wrong with me. Thinking I come from poverty, this is just how it is. I didn’t understand trauma and all these different things. So when I started to get the words for it, I started to understand and grab tools, [and] I started to become better.
Jeezy Opens Up About Not Knowing He Had Depression For Years
"I started my journey and that’s why I’m expressing it and putting it in the book," Jeezy continued. "Because I didn’t know I was depressed for like eight years of my life straight. You wake up and you just want to go back to sleep forever, you know? And I was leaning into my vices. And that’s what street life does to you. You know what I’m saying? When you lose 200, 300, 400 people like gone forever, you just get numb. And I wasn’t able to get in touch with my emotions and I was wondering why. Thank God for my kids, but there was a time I was just cold. That’s when I was Young Jeezy."
Meanwhile, the Atlanta MC recalled a scary brush with suicidal thoughts during an interview with PEOPLE in August of this year. "I remember standing there and saying to myself, ‘Man, if you go back home and you don’t figure this out,'" he expressed. "Because I don’t want to end up like my friends. My friends became junkies and they were getting killed and all these things. ‘No, bro. You gonna have to man up. You gonna have to go back home, you got to figure this out.’" For more news and the latest updates on Jeezy, keep checking in with HNHH.