Tasha Cobbs Shares Her Personal Story of Depression and How She Overcame

Grammy Award winning gospel artist Tasha Cobbs is speaking out about mental illness and the need for the issue to be seriously addressed in the church.

The "Break Every Chains" singer shared her story with Essence. She says that during her childhood she would have feelings of sadness but didn't realize there was a deeper issue until much later in life when she was a worship pastor. She talks about how she would function normally at church as she lead worship but would be very depressed behind closed doors at home.

"My cousin Shaniqua—who was my roommate at the time—knew the routine: We would come home from church. I would get undressed, put on something huge and lay in the bed and stay there – for days. This time I had been in the bed for three or four days and I hadn't left my room. The house was completely dark; curtains closed, and the sadness was so heavy in that house that she literally moved out and moved into my pastor’s house for that week because it was just too heavy for her."

Over time, Cobbs says she began to do research on depression and decided to begin seeing a therapist who confirmed Cobbs suspicions by officially diagnosing her with depression. "Going to therapy was new for me," says Cobbs. "I didn’t know anyone who went to therapy – or so I thought. We don’t talk about mental health enough in our churches or our culture. I remember being weary of even doing it. When I started going to therapy I only told my closest friends and family. They were all very supportive."

Besides therapy, Cobbs speaks of her strong faith and how it carried her through perilous times. "I believe that in life there are moments where we have to live what we preach. I've been preaching that he's the God of peace, he's the God who rids us of chaos in our life. The Bible talks about the peace that we cannot understand. With all the faith I have, I have to believe Him to be the God that I preach about. So when I'm struggling to find peace in my mind... I can always go to God and he gives me peace that surpasses my understanding."

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