Introducing Mitch Rip

You've mentioned, I've seen in some of your TikToks, you've mentioned mental health.

Not going down the pathway of telling us the story so much, but just mentioning that there are mental health issues in your life.

And I don't want to pry and don't want to put you into an uncomfortable situation, but I was curious if you'd be interested in talking about that at all.

What are some of the things that you've been battling with or that you've been dealing with?

Yeah, I actually I think everyone in my life already knows I'm bipolar.

So like I deal with a lot of a lot of stuff with that.

So especially like in college, I was acting out a lot and I didn't understand what was going on.

And then I'd have these big periods of depression.

So I, you know, I think anyone dealing with something like that needs some kind of outlet, something to keep you grounded and focused.

And for me, like a lot of it is just like having something for like to keep you disciplined or whatever, because if I get like big swaps of time, then I kind of start gravitating towards these more destructive paths or trying to keep you stimulated or whatever.

You have to understand, like I have ADHD and bipolar, so, you know, I'm like my own worst enemy in a lot of ways.

So stuff like this where it's like I'm able to take that energy and put it into something like this.

And then also like I noticed that a lot of the people who follow me or listen to my music also share kind of similar issues, whether that be anxiety, depression, ADHD or any kind of neurodivergence.

So.

I try and want to be open about it and be like, you know, I'm someone who held down a stable job for nearly a decade and was able to do this also.

So I don't want anyone to think like just because you have something doesn't mean you can't do what you want to do and that you just because you've done some stuff in your life you're not proud of doesn't mean that has to be you forever and there's ways out of this stuff and it still affects me and I still do stuff I you know but it's like at least there's a there's a way out of it now so I think like the conversation about this stuff is getting a lot more open and there's there's still like a huge stigma about it or whatever like but even from like five years ago to now when I tell people that you know like it's a lot more accepting and they're not being like immediately shunned or cast as a certain thing, so.

It is kind of nice there's been a more openness for people to listen to folks like you and accept that story, right? Like I'm a few years older than you and I was growing up in the late 80s and the 90s and no one cared.

You didn't talk about that stuff because nobody cared.

They didn't care if you had depression.

We didn't know what anxiety was.

It was just a very different time.

And I love that there are people that are willing to share their story and people are being a little bit more accepting of it.

And what you just said too about discipline and needing something to do where you start spiraling, I completely agree with that.

And I feel you so much.

When I left my job last fall, I didn't have a full-time regular job for about nine months.