In 2018, thousands of Eurovision Song Contest fans took Mikolas Josef into their hearts as he became, and remains, the most successful representative from the Czech Republic at the contest. Now, Mikolas has bravely shared his five-year battle with anxiety via his Instagram page.
A battle beginning in 2016
Mikolas explains that his battle with anxiety began in 2016. However, earlier this year, Mikolas tells us that his anxiety had reached a new peak. In regards to the effects of the anxiety, he says that it causes his body to shake for four hours, his heart to race like he is having a heart attack and when he stands up, he falls down. Furthermore, he struggled to put his words together and when combined all of these anxieties with his asthma, he feels that there is “no oxygen in the air”.
The Czech star explains that initially he thought the best option, when his suffering reached a peak this Spring, was to quit his record label out of “fear of looking weak”. However, he now realises that “showing weakness and taking the judgement that follows is actually sign of strength”.
Re-evaluating himself
To make progress in his battle, Mikolas reveals that he chose to cut social media out of his life due to the negative impact it was having on his self-worth. A process of re-evaluation began and now he explains that he “has found love for the things he does, for the people around him, for himself and for his demons” too. Most importantly, he believes that every day is worth living and every day is a lesson.
Good luck Mikolas!
Editor’s note: I had the privilege to meet Mikolas at the 2018 London Eurovision party and remains to this day one of the friendliest people I have ever met. I applaud him for sharing his story with his fans and wish him all the best as he continues to win his battle with anxiety.
For anyone reading this that is suffering from any mental health issues, please visit the website of your health provider in order to discover the support that is available for you.
You can read Mikolas’ full statement via his Instagram post embedded below which he concludes by thanking everyone who has helped him get through this extremely difficult period of his life. In addition, you can see is back tattoo explaining his lessons of life.
