Disturbed vocalist David Draiman is feeling thankful. In a new social media post, he expressed gratitude for the “outpouring of support” he has received after courageously revealing at a concert in Milwaukee that he recently almost lost his own life to mental health struggles.
As previously reported, while speaking about the song “A Reason to Fight,” the singer told the crowd, “I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of losing everybody I love to depression and addiction. Every single band member on this stage has dealt with those feelings, with those demons. And I miss the friends that we’ve lost. I miss Chester [Bennington], I miss Scott [Weiland], I miss Chris [Cornell].”
He added, “And if I can be completely honest with you, a couple months ago, I almost joined them. Addiction and depression can happen to anyone ladies and gentlemen.”
In a new message on Twitter posted on Thursday (May 18th), Draiman wrote, “I just wanted to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support. You are all heard, seen, and very much appreciated. Much love and thanks to you all. Don’t worry; I’m not going anywhere. You all keep giving me #AReasonToFight.”
Draiman has been stressing the importance of erasing the stigma of mental health issues since releasing “A Reason to Fight” off Disturbed’s 2018 album, Evolution. In 2019, he told Heavy Consequence, “Addiction and depression are demons that go hand in hand with one another… I’m tired of being passive about it. I’m tired of people waiting until after the fact. I don’t want to go to any more funerals… I think it’s important for all of us to really take an active role.”
Expect Draiman to share more of his thoughts on mental health on Disturbed’s upcoming summer US tour in support of their latest album, Divisive. Tickets for the band’s shows are available here.
See Draiman’s new Tweet and his aforementioned onstage speech below, followed by our 2019 video interview with the singer.
I just wanted to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support.
You are all heard, seen, and very much appreciated.Much love and thanks to you all.
Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere…you all keep giving me #AReasonToFight@Disturbed 🙏🏻🙏🏻🤘🏻
— David Draiman 🟦 (@davidmdraiman) May 18, 2023