Pro Green speaks about his mental health
The rapper and documentary maker speaks out in support of our mental health campaign
What’s the hardest battle you have fought emotionally?
Probably my internal dialogue. Things tend to manifest, and when I keep things in, they swim around my head and get bigger and bigger. I was lucky enough to find a form of expression in writing music, so I was able to get what was inside out, and that made things a hell of a lot easier to process.
What else do you do to de-stress?
If I need to think, I’ll walk my dogs. Or, if I’m overthinking, I’ll exercise. Then I have no choice but to concentrate on what I’m doing.
Do you think it’s hard for men to be open about mental health?
Yes, because you’re taught as boys to “Be a man!” But what is it to be a man? Being a man now is very different to what it was thousands of years ago. But, as men, maybe we haven’t quite caught up yet.
What type of music do you listen to when you unwind?
If I’m happy, I’ll listen to happy music, and if I’m down, I’ll tend to listen to music that makes it all worse. But, actually, that makes it OK to be down. I think it’s important to know it’s OK to be how you feel at any given point.
How do you deal with the pressure of being a celebrity?
The fame thing is a weird one. I am always polite, so no one knows what kind of day I’m having. It’s ultimately flattering if someone wants to stop me and say well done on your documentaries, I love your music or can I have a picture.
If you could spend a week in someone else’s brain, who would you pick?
Johnny Vegas – I’d love to understand how, after all the years of beer drinking, his recall is so brilliant. I can’t remember what I did yesterday!
If you could change one thing about our culture and society, what would it be?
Something to do with phones, because people spend a lot of time looking down and it’s an easy go-to if you are in a situation where you feel awkward. It’s a bad distraction. It’s going to take a generation or two to see the real effect that phones and social media have had on us.
‘When I keep things in, they swim around my head’