How Method Man tragically fell into a depression due to fame
Method Man has been a formidable force in hip-hop since his arrival in the early 1990s alongside the Wu-Tang Clan. The emcee has always been an aggressive, passionate, and driven figure. Furthermore, when he teamed up with Redman for the 2001 comedy How High, he showed his funny side.
However, despite the joy that came with his success, Method Man ended up having to battle many demons to truly find himself and his rough childhood caught up with him later in life. This led to a severe case of depression, which, until recently, he has rarely spoken about.
In an interview, Method Man opened up about how, between 1993 and 1994, he went from a nobody to a somebody and admitted that it was overwhelming to be so suddenly thrust into the spotlight from obscurity and normality.
Highlighting the various emotional phases he went through as he began to ascend in the music industry, Method Man told Men’s Health, “It went from this childhood joy to this euphoric feeling of celebrity to feeling inadequate and not good enough and not even knowing that I’ve been depressed since I was a youngster. A lot of PTSD I had never dealt with before started resurfacing.”
As he began to rise, Method Man admitted there was a honeymoon period but unveiled that trying to navigate the industry and landing features with artists such as Mary J Blige, LL Cool J, and Biggie Smalls gave him fear and a sense of imposter syndrome. As such, he turned to drugs. As he was constantly moved from place to place for album promos and performances, he admitted his mental health began to decline, and he became extremely worn out.
Ghostface Killah was the first was the first member of the Clan to see the consequences of his unhealthy lifestyle when, in 1996, he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In 2004, Ol’ Dirty Bastard died from a drug overdose, and Method Man turned his life around.
Method Man went sober shortly after and began going to the gym, which helped him with his insomnia. The workouts helped him secure roles in his acting journey. Recalling this, he told the publication, “It was about 3:30 in the morning, and I looked to see what time the gym opened,” he remembers. “I told myself, if this thing opens at 7:00, I’m not going. It opened at 4:00 so I hopped my ass up.”
He continued, “I didn’t know what to expect going in there, but I had been working with a trainer prior to that, so I said, ‘I’ll just go in there and follow this routine.’ And that’s how it started.”
In an interview with Carmelo Anthony and Kid Mero, Method Man also detailed his struggles with mental health, revealing, “It’s hard. I find solace in just being myself and not living up to anyone else’s expectations. But it does bother me at times. I have episodes. I have been dealing with it for so long I know what it feels like when it’s coming.”
He concluded, “There’s really no solution you can have you just have to deal with ut and ride it out!”
You can watch Method Man speak about mental health below.