dare to go to those dark places – but don't make them your home

Does this mean that you have to suffer for your art? There is a certain morbid fascination in watching an artist crash and burn, but the reality for the sufferer is that depression is so debilitating it's impossible to create anything at all. It's only when emerge from a period of illness that you can look at the darkness and find the words to describe it. So maybe the key to being a great artist and songwriter with a long and happy life is to dare to go to those dark places – but don't make them your home.