JoJo Opens Up About Clinical Depression Diagnosis

JoJo is opening up about her mental struggles, which inspired her new album, Good to Know, revealing that she has been battling depression for 10 years.

“Because there is a history of mental health issues in my family, I didn’t feel any shame seeking help,” she told People magazine.

JoJo says she’s been going to therapy and taking antidepressants since she was 18. Her father struggled with opioid addiction and passed away due to complications from the disease in 2015. JoJo also struggled with abusing alcohol, drinking the point of blackouts starting at age 18 before deciding to change two years later.

“Those of us who have a predisposition toward depression or a chemical imbalance – sometimes we just need a little help,” she shared.

JoJo, now 29, says that while she doesn’t abstain from drinking today, she no longer drinks “to escape.” She now manages her mental health with therapy and medication, as well as exercise, yoga and journaling.

Earlier this year, JoJo, whose real name is Joanna Levesque, opened up about entertainment-industry pressures that led to a 500-calorie diet.

“I’m sure a lot of us develop extreme insecurities and disordered eating and really unhealthy thinking about ourselves,” she said in the February 2020 interview with Uproxx. “I felt that how I was must have been not enough. Must have been dissatisfying.”

Her issues, both mental and physical, made her turn to alcohol to cope. “I started getting really f*cked up, drinking, making out with strangers, looking for validation and attention and looking to feel pretty, looking to feel good, to feel worthy.”

Good to Know comes out Friday.