‘One person’s madness is another person’s reality.’ I don’t know if it’s music that makes us ‘mad’, or if us musicians and artists are so drawn to this form of expression because we need to escape our madness.

The Charlie Parkers, the Hank Williams, the Kurt Cobains of the world. You and I.

Our world is a world similar to Alice’s. A magical wonderland. Filled with mad hatters, and most of all, uncertainty.

These worlds differ too. We don’t have a Mad Hatter tea party to discuss what’s going on in our lives and jobs and minds. Instead, we have some sort of impersonal internet page, where people sometimes post articles on musicians and mental health, but it is mainly used for personal gain eg. ‘Come see my band in Cork’.

We need support. Especially for all of us mad hatters – the ones who need it most.

100 Voices was published in the Hot Press Mental Health Special in conjunction with Lyons Tea and Pieta House as part of the Now We're Talking Campaign. For more please visit hotpress.com/now-were-talking/