Avicii's father talks mental health at International Music Summit Ibiza

Avicii's father, Klas Bergling spoke at the International Music Summit (IMS) Ibiza about suicide prevention and the recently founded Tim Bergling Foundation.

The foundation is named after his son Tim Bergling (also known as Avicii), who passed away in April last year.

“We are setting up the foundation to focus preventative work for mental illness and suicide, we are also looking at threatened animals and nature which was Tim’s passion as well as climate,” said Klas Bergling.

Funded solely from Avicii's estate, the Tim Bergling Foundation aims to educate people and businesses on the issues surrounding suicide. It also hopes to draw attention to the importance of recognising and treating the early signs of deteriorating mental health, anxiety and depression for both performing artists and workers in the music industry.

In an interview with BBC Radio 1's Pete Tong, Klas spoke about the deterioration of Tim's mental health, believing that a punishing schedule, lack of sleep, pressure to perform and alcohol abuse contributed to his depression and anxiety.

“Life as a DJ and travels where you don’t get any rest between, you travel a lot, you sleep less. The pressure is great depending on the individual, some people handle it perfectly, others don’t,” he said.

Avicii's philanthropist streak spanned the length of his career, where he had interests in stopping human trafficking and gang violence, as well social initiatives to relieve hunger, launching the House for Hunger, a not-for-profit DJ tour. The foundation also seeks to promote climate change and animal welfare, issues that were close to Tim's heart.

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