Photo of Michael Angelakos, courtesy Invision/AP
Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos on Tuesday live streamed his magnetic brain treatment for bipolar disorder, spurring a very important and honest discussion with fans.
Angelakos, who has been very forthcoming about his decade-long struggle with bipolar disorder and depression, was undergoing a treatment called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which activates nerve cells in the brain and is said to improve the symptoms of depression and other mental illness using magnetic fields.
During the treatment, which he broadcasted for an hour on Facebook Live, Angelakos talked about his personal experience with TMS, noting he took medication for years and eventually became addicted. He also answered a number of questions about mental illness and encouraged those watching to engage in more open conversations.
"If we don't talk about it, that's quite literally why no one understands what we're talking about," he said, adding: "I don't have anything to hide."
As we previously reported, Angelakos recently launched the Wishart Group, an organization focusing on mental health, aiming to support fellow musicians with with legal, educational and healthcare services.
He has since released a new album, Tremendous Sea of Love, which he shared one song at a time on YouTube. He revealed during his live stream today that portions of the album were created or refined at the same medical office where he receives his treatments.
See Angelakos' live stream below.
(Update: The live video has been removed.)