Michelle Williams shares how her Destiny’s Child group chat is a mental health lifeline

Michelle Williams found fame and success as a member of Destiny’s Child, but behind the scenes, she was struggling with her own mental health. 

The “Survivor” singer opened up about the highs and lows that she secretly dealt with during the height of the group’s success before entering a treatment facility in her new memoir, Checking In: How Getting Real About Depression Saved My Life —and Can Save Yours.”

Williams told Etalk’s Lainy Lui about her group chat with the rest of Destiny’s Child (you know, Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé!) and how they make sure to check in on each other.

“We give each other support. We give each other space. It’s funny because we’ll instinctively somehow know when something is going on,” the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter said.

“Sometimes it’s just good to look down at your phone and see a text message from somebody saying, ‘Hey, thinking of you today. Loving on you today. How you doing?’”

Williams says that the first thing a lot of people do when a friend checks in with them is instinctively answer, "Oh, I’m doing good," but she’s encouraging people to be honest about how they’re actually doing.

“Truth is I’m tired…I’m on book promo fumes, but I’m grateful. We’ve got to have those three pillars of checking in. It’s not just in my book, but it’s something I do on a daily basis is check in with myself, check in with others and check in with God. My faith is my foundation,” the longtime mental health advocate explained.

As someone who leads by example in her mental health advocacy, Williams is helping fight the stigma that surrounds the topic. In return, people share a lot of energy and stories with her, which can be hard at times when she’s tired, but Williams finds that balance she needs.

“You can find balance when you set boundaries. There are times where I’m not checking my phone. I’m not checking messages at certain times of the day, and because I’m no one’s counsellor, there are certain things that I cannot do,” she said.

“If someone is in a 9-1-1 situation, there are many times I tell them to call 9-1-1 or I’ll put them in touch with a therapist or someone. But I’m making it a life goal to at least hold someone’s hand and let them know that you’re not alone.”

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the importance of having conversations around mental health. 

Williams said that “the doors are opening” around these long-overdue conversations, and she’s “imagining we’re going to see a lot more years of these conversations.”

“I know a lot of people who probably dismissed the notion of mental health issues probably experience an issue during the pandemic that made them say, ‘Woah, this is real. Depression is real. Anxiety is real.’ A lot of people had to walk through it themselves who probably dismissed the claims of others,” she added.

During her conversation with Lainey, Williams opened up about her thoughts on another Destiny’s Child album. She previously said she wouldn’t be opposed to working on a new album with Rowland and Beyoncé again.

“The reason why I say that is I just think that when we get together, whatever those times are, we sound good. I just love making music and melodies and harmonies with the girls. I’m like, what if we did an album, but we never put it out?” Williams teased. DON'T DO THAT TO US!

BEFORE YOU GO: Taraji P. Henson hosting a new show about mental health

[video_embed id='2050179']BEFORE YOU GO: Taraji P. Henson hosting a new show about mental health[/video_embed]