Eric Bass is taking a break from tour. The Shinedown bassist recently took to Instagram to announce that he’s stepping away from the band‘s Dance Kid Dance Act II World Tour amid mental health struggles.
“I had a pretty serious mental health crash, I guess you could say, a few weeks ago,” Bass said in a video posted to Instagram. “I don’t really feel it’s the wise thing for me to do to go out on tour right now.”
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While Bass “debated whether or not to make this announcement,” he eventually decided to do just that in an effort to advocate for mental health awareness.
“[With] mental health being such a thing that I have championed and the band has championed, I thought that it would be not the best look to maybe seem like I’m ashamed of it,” he explained.
Bass said that he “can’t go into any details about” his mental health struggles, but he assured fans that he’s receiving care amid the challenging time.
“I’m doing a really great treatment at the Medical University of South Carolina called TMS. It’s actually an electrical stimulation protocol that helps with depression. That mixed in with talk therapy and that kind of thing,” he said. “I’m feeling way better, so that’s good.”
Though Bass said “it’s killing” him not to be on tour, he knows the band is in good hands. Josh Sturm and Zack Mack are set to fill in for him on the road.
Shinedown’s Eric Bass Discusses His Mental Health
As for when he’ll return to the road, Bass said he doesn’t “have a timeline for that right now.”
“Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later,” he said, “but I want to make sure that I’m safe.”
Bass continued his video by acknowledging that he’s “very blessed to be able to take a break like this.”
“I know a lot of people can’t,” he said. “I would encourage anyone who is a business owner out there, if you’ve got someone in your company who’s having issues like this, to give them some time if they need it. And also, if you’re going through a mental health crisis, to give yourself time as well and to reach out to people.”
Bass himself did just that when he realized how much he was struggling.
“I did something I’d never done before in my 51 years on Earth. I reached out to someone and I said, ‘I can’t do this on my own. I need help,’” Bass said. “It led to some healing that I’m going through right now. It’s not an easy thing to do, to ask for help, but it has to be done.”
The bassist concluded his message by stating, “I love all of you. Thank you all for your understanding. I can’t wait to get back up on stage again… I will be back out there as soon as possible.”
Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images