Since their debut, they’ve been making waves through inspirational music and an open attitude to mental health. It’s been ten years since then, and there’s no better way to celebrate this milestone than with their anthology album, PROOF, which will be out very soon!
Beyond creating helpful earworms, each member has been vocal and honest with their mental wellness journey. Their key messaging of coming of age, loss, mental health and positivity earned them a place in everyone’s hearts.
Here’s how BTS proves they’ve got what it takes to keep their mental wellness advocacy.
RM
Starting with the leader, RM, he spoke up on loving yourself as the most complex form of love. It’s an introspective journey filled with doubts and questions. With this in mind, BTS worked with Unicef in 2018 to create the Love Myself campaign. The results? Over US$4M raised to end violence against children and teens!
He encapsulated his approach to self-love in his own words.
“No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin colour, gender identity: speak yourself. Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.” – Kim Namjoon
Suga
Lending his composing talent and mad rap skills to the team, Suga is synonymous with depression and OCD. In The Last, he documented his battle for peace, a powerful rap filled with aches and pains.
Now, he’s made peace and accepted himself for who he is. He describes his mental health state as “cold weather”, experiencing the ebb and flow of his negative feelings. This vocalist even takes on toxic masculinity!
“Love myself, love yourself, peace.” – Min Yoongi
Jin
A soloist in his own right, Jin made waves with his single hits. So it’s no surprise music is his outlet for his emotions and thoughts. As part of the Love Yourself campaign, Jin performed “Epiphany”, a discovery journey for an individual to embrace all the imperfections and beauty a person has.
In 2020, Jin penned a blog post and released another solo hit. This time, “Abyss” focuses on the pains of burnout and anxiety. Going through these down periods, Jin worked with a positive-thinking composer to externalise these feelings into lyrical therapy for himself.
“The only time you should ever look back, is to see how far you’ve come.” – Kim Seok-Jin
J-Hope
As the joy giver and happy pill of the group, J-Hope is all good vibes. But, he had to learn to manage his emotions better and understand that he can’t always be hopeful.
Thankfully, he now takes a more realistic approach and expresses his rainbow of feelings through music and dialogue. In addition, his hometown of Gwangju strongly advocated for mental health and opened Hope Psychiatric Clinic on J-Hope’s birthday!
“You are the leader of your life.” – Jung Ho-Seok
Jimin
If you ever need proof that exercise works, Jimin is the one you’re looking for. Beyond taking time off to look internally and recalibrate himself after BTS postponed their world tour, Jimin used this precious time wisely.
Instead of running away from his loneliness and thoughts, Jimin started running! This physical activity helped clear his mind, and he now feels that alone time is compulsory.
“I’m a brand new filter that you’ve never seen before.” – Park Jimin
V
V is an accomplished composer and resident old-soul behind some BTS ballads and his solo hits. The Winter Bear debuted yet another song, “Blue and Grey”, in 2020, where this song speaks of the dull, depressive feelings he experienced.
He was so down that he doubted his ability to stay in BTS. However, releasing this moving song allowed him to express his blues while remaining committed to ARMY, BTS, and himself.
“Purple is the last of the rainbow colours, so it means I will love and trust you for a long time.” – Kim Tae-hyung
Jungkook
For the maknae, JK has always been honest with himself regarding effort and results to prevent burnout. Everyone’s journey to success is different, and even what we consider success will vary.
“It takes time, but nothing gets worse due to practising. So practise. You may get depressed, but it’s evidence you’re doing good.” – Jeon Jungkook
You are your own proof!
The members of BTS are incredibly talented and extremely dedicated to their craft. PROOF is the result of their hard work and commitment to Army and this new generation. If you need a little nudge in the right direction and encouragement to go on, BTS and your Shadee.Care community is here for you!
Image credits: Big Hit Music
