The hard rock and metal community was hit hard with yesterday’s news that Huntress singer Jill Janus had committed suicide at the age of 43. Among the artists who was deeply affected by Janus’ death was Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale, who penned a moving tribute to Janus.
Janus was very open about her mental health struggles, candidly talking about her demons in interviews. She battled bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and manic depression throughout her life, and sadly, this past Tuesday (August 14th), she took her own life outside of Portland, Oregon.
In remembering Janus, Hale also urged people going through similar struggles to seek help. Her full posting on Instagram reads as follows:
“It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to one of our peers. Jill Janus, has died today. Jill was very open about her struggles with mental health and addiction. Now, more than ever, spanning across Every age group, the suicide rate is extremely high. I’d like to take a moment to state again how important it is to talk about mental health, and remind all of you out there battling demons that you are not alone. I have to navigate my own dark labyrinth and I turn to music and writing for my lifeline. I want to encourage you to keep searching for Your lifeline, something that makes You happy. It doesn’t matter if no one gets it but you…that’s ok! We need to Stop trying to live up to expectations that society places in front of us to make us feel Unworthy of love, beauty and success. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. We need to stop trying to be “normal”. And we need to stop being quiet about our mental wellbeing. Asking for help doesn’t mean your broken. And if you don’t know how to ask for help that’s ok too, those of us who have a shoulder will let you lean on it! We are All in this life together. For those of you with the ability to lend a hand or and ear. DO IT! We have a responsibility to help each other, cuz everything we say, do and touch affects the whole race. We are all connected. And I’d also like to address how careful We need to be with prescription medications that doctors and people that we trust give us to try to fix us. Some side effects of these meds rewire your brain, to where even if you wouldn’t normally have suicidal thoughts, your brain actually starts thinking that it is logical…all due to meds. Please be careful my loves!
To Jill, My sister of scream, I hope wherever you are you have found the peace that you couldn’t here. My deepest sympathy’s go out to Jill’s Family and her band Huntress during this time.”
A short while later, Lzzy returned to Instagram to launch a hashtag campaign to raise awareness for mental health issues. She wrote:
“Hey Freaks, I’d like to do something! I want everyone who has ever struggled with mental health to #RaiseYourHorns take a pic, tag and share it! The more people that are brave enough to put it out there, the more we will all see that we are not alone in our battles, in fact, we are the majority! Let’s get one step closer to breaking the mental health stigma! Much love in Rock n Roll #RaiseYourHorns”
