Miller Blue – Going Through the Emotions

“Growing up, I based my opinions on the opinions of others instead of just being confident in how I felt and rolling with that.”

Miller Blue’s latest release, ‘Us,’ is a woozy musing on the early bliss of a new relationship.

What has been your biggest life challenge so far and what did you do to overcome it? 

In university I shut myself off from the world.

I stayed inside all the time, and spiralled into this strange delusional state; smoking weed constantly to ignore the truth of it all.

It affected relationships with my friends, my partner, and most of all myself.

I think I stopped believing in myself entirely. It was a very dark time for me. It was definitely a gradual process to get out of that state. Writing really helped.

Until recently I’d never been one to share my feelings and problems with those close to me. Writing songs about the situation with my own psyche really helped me remove myself from the fog and see it more clearly.

I believe it was also small conscious changes overtime that helped me get out of it.

Simple things like meditating, forcing myself to go outside, being honest with others when I wasn’t feeling so great and realising that it was okay.

It took me a while to get my confidence back. As confusing and difficult as this was, I’m glad it did happen so I could learn from it.

What do you think affects your mental health positively?

Nature, meditating, reading, playing guitar or piano, working out, allowing myself down time without guilt.

Anything that allows my usual busy thinking mind to take a moment.

Behind the thinking clouds, the sun always remains even if you cannot see it.

And negatively?

Staying indoors for too long, eating unhealthily.

Binging on social media.

All of these things create some form of delusion in my brain, and I have a tendency to let it play out far too long which always leads to anxiety and overthinking.

What role does creativity play in your wellbeing? 

It definitely attributes to it.

I’ve proved to myself many times – whether it be from picking up a guitar and playing, sketching something or simply writing down something I’ve imagined.

This always seems to create some kind of release.

What are you reading, watching and listening to at the moment? 

I’m reading a few books at the moment. ‘Just Kids’ by Patti Smith,  is so wonderfully written.

She’s honest, vulnerable. It’s inspiring. I’m really enjoying it.

I also just finished a book called ‘The Road Less Travelled’ by M. Scott Peck. It redefined how I view growth and pain.

It helped me appreciate and realise my own strengths and flaws.

I’d definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to undergo any kind of self development.

With regards to TV and film, I’ve just finished watching ‘Tiger King’ on Netflix (as I’m sure 98% of the population also have.)

Gripping. I also rewatched ‘Princess Mononoke’ for the 456th time.

It always reminds me of the fragile yet powerful balance that nature holds. Another must watch.

What’s your go to music if you need a boost?

Right now, two songs that never fail to make me feel good are ‘In The Morning’ by Jay Prince and ‘Crush’ by Duckwrth.

But if I need to find clarity or make sense of what’s around me, I often go to either instrumental jazz or some form of classical music.

What are your favourite foods?

I eat avocado every morning with garlic roasted mushrooms. I am hooked.

Italian food in general has a big spot in my heart.

Do you like to exercise or meditate at all? 

I do! I’ve been practicing different forms of meditation since I turned 17.

The last 6 months I have been much more active and I have definitely seen a difference in my wellbeing.

It creates a lot of clarity and calm for me, especially if I do it in the morning. It sets my day off right.

Exercise for me seems to come in waves. I’ll have three months barely doing any, and then three where I’m working out and running everyday.

I feel much better when doing the latter, however I often fall into a cycle of breaking habits which I’m trying to work on.

Right now, I am in the mode of doing a daily workout routine, which was ironically triggered by the lockdown.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received in regards to your mental wellbeing?

 “If there’s nothing you can do to change a situation, worrying about it won’t help”.

This stripped back so many layers of anxiety for me.

It helped me to realise how much I over analyse and re-contextualise situations.

How have you changed since 15, and what advice would you give to that person? 

Hopefully I keep on changing, I never want to feel like I’m done.

But I think self belief and caring less about other people’s opinions sticks out to me.

We get so much social pressure put on us in schools to fit in and follow cultural protocol.

To my younger self I would say: “Wash your face more, stop caring so much about how people view you, and trust how you feel. I love you.”

Miller Blue’s latest single ‘Us’ is available now via all major digital platforms.