Brandon Lake Gets Candid About Depression, Mental Health Struggles

Former Maverick City Music member Brandon Lake is opening up about dealing with mental health woes, which the 33-year-old Christian worship singer says heightened as his fame grew. After revealing to friends and fans what he was battling with, he says he had an epiphany after a friend, Micah, prayed over him via voice message.

"As soon as he prayed over me, man … all of the weight and the craziness in that moment, it broke. I broke, but in a good way, which led to confession," he said while speaking with his father Mac Lake in a recent YouTube video. Bradon says he also turned to his wife for support.

Despite his career soaring to great heights, he says he faced immense pressure, which took a toll on his mental health and emotional stability. "I was starting to feel depression coming on," he said. "I've heard it said that your body doesn't know the difference between good stress and bad stress, it just knows stress."

Amid what he implies was suicidal ideation, he sought professional help. He recalled,"I've started thinking in ways I've never thought, like being completely vulnerable. I even had a low moment. And y'all, this is like the span of a few hours, a few days. And I'm already thinking like, 'Should I just leave this Earth? … I'm miserable. … Would they just be better without me? Does anybody love me? Am I even seen?'

"I began to meet with Chip, my counselor, my therapist, if you will, and he gave me language to understand what was happening."

His therapist described his condition as being related to adrenaline fatigue. "I'd come off the road and I had no more adrenaline. And what that [does], is it attacks your emotional management system, your pain management system. And talking about health, it attacks your immune system. So you can easily, if you're somebody on the go and not giving yourself time to rest, you will get sick," Lake explained. "I began to talk with him [his therapist] and he gave me language for that, which brought about so much freedom. And [he] helped me with some tools to make sure I'm combating that."

He's in a much better place now. Thanks to therapy and prayer, he's able to better manage his stressors.