Singer-songwriter Grace Gaustad, 19, is leveraging her platform and personal experience with anxiety and depression to help others struggling with mental health. The Los Angeles-based artist recently recreated a traumatic high school bullying episode for her music video “Creature” from her debut album “BLKBX: wht r u hding.” The experience was so emotionally difficult that her mother had to leave the set.
Gaustad has battled anxiety since kindergarten and struggled with body dysmorphia during puberty, eventually developing depression in middle school. Her high school years were particularly challenging. She attended an all-girls school in New York City with fewer than 30 students per grade and came out as bisexual in ninth grade at a time when only two or three other openly LGBTQ students existed in the school, all seniors. When combined with acne, weight fluctuations, and a learning disability, the bullying surrounding her sexuality created what she described as “a perfect storm.”
Beyond her music, Gaustad helped create the BLKBX PROJECT, a resource platform designed to provide teens with mental health support and assistance. “I didn’t want to just put out an album,” she said. “I wanted to create positive change.” She also contributed to Sound Mind’s “Unmasked” video portrait series on World Mental Health Day on October 10, discussing her mental health journey. On the same day, she released a short film executive produced by Law and Order’s Mariska Hargitay highlighting her mental health journey.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 75% of young adults surveyed reported experiencing a mental health issue due to the pandemic. Gaustad’s advocacy aims to break down the stigma of seeking mental health treatment and encourages people of all ages to prioritize their well-being.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.ms.now/know-your-value/how-singer-grace-gaustad-creating-safe-haven-those-suffering-anxiety-n1281007