Richie Feelings wants more focus on mental health - Expresses sadness at Lisa Hyper’s recent struggles

Following the recent arrest of Lisa Hyper, veteran selector-artiste Richie Feelings wants people to take mental health more seriously.

"People neva used to pay attention to her like dat until she start guh live wid her ranting ... when yuh look pon her [Instagram] live [on Tuesday] over 6,000 people were on it and when she a promote her music yuh nuh see nobody. But dem neva really care bout she. Dis [mental illness] is not a simple ting, enuh, and only somebody weh she love affi calm her down. Har family members dem a guh through it because dem know what is taking place and it's scary," Richie Feelings told THE WEEKEND STAR. "Yuh see di shame weh it come wid, anuh everybody can walk wid dah shame deh...yuh affi strong."

He made these statements after Lisa Hyper was arrested while on the aforementioned Instagram live. The singjay, who has been having what appears to be a series of mental breakdowns for weeks, was seen arguing with Norman Manley International Airport workers, just moments before being arrested. Richie Feelings said a close friend of Lisa Hyper shared that it has been 11 years since she has been faced with back-to-back episodes of "manic behaviours and loud outbursts" as she suffers from schizophrenia, as she previously disclosed. However, having first-hand experience of caring for his mother who suffered from a similar ailment, Richie Feelings said there is nothing funny about the situation and he hurts deeply for Lisa.

"Mi see my madda guh through it fi years. Mi guh Bellevue till mi fava dung deh. A nuh one nice feeling, worse when yuh popular," he stressed.

"Mi madda go weh wid my four-year-old baby and go down a town and see all baby things and tek off di people dem shoes and clothes and put on pon mi son and seh 'A wah happen to unu? Mi soon pay yuh'. Dem naah hurt di baby, enuh, is just a episode," he shared. His mother has since passed away.

He urged families to take these signs seriously and not to give up on loved ones displaying signs of mental illness.

"Dem nuh know weh dem a guh through either...di only time dem calm is when dem get an injection or pill fi calm dem and dem sleep three to four days or dem start move slow. [But] yuh cyaah give up pon dem," he said.

Richie Feelings said that since Lisa Hyper's incident, six other popular persons have reached out to him, saying that they are going through similar trials.

"It's a serious, serious, serious thing but some people nuh know how fi deal wid or understand because it's like wi fraid or wi shame. Anuh everybody ago put dem life pon social media but a whole heap a people a suffer behind closed doors and inna silence," he opined.

Richie Feelings said watching the public "ridicule and mock" Lisa Hyper hits home as he was often bullied about his mother's mental health.

"I realise that we live in a society now weh everybody tek everything fi joke. A 'bring dung' dem people yah deal wid until supmn happen to dem family, now yuh hear dem a beg fi 'prayer and privacy'. Mi nuh think Jamaicans tek mental health serious, but more attention need fi guh to it," he said.

He noted that the mental and psychological impact of being the caregiver for persons with this condition can have a lasting impact.

"When yuh sit back and think about di situation and yuh cya duh nutten bout it, it hurt yuh star. Because imagine you being at work and yuh get a call seh yuh [relative], somebody weh yuh love, deh downtown stalk naked, people tek out dem phone and video dem, [calling] dem mad and start tease dem not knowing seh most times they are armed with destructive weapons and will use it because dem nuh know weh dem a duh. Yuh might guh and see dem face buss up or dem do smaddy supmn, suh yuh heart a race when yuh a guh fi dem," he said. "A bay a dem supmn deh mi guh through wid my madda suh dem supmn deh lick yuh chip and put yuh inna depression, cyaah focus a work and nobody nuh understand weh yuh a guh through."

He advised everyone to "show love to your loved ones now" because his biggest trauma is not having his mother around. However, he said he doesn't believe Lisa Hyper's family and friends have given up on her, but they are just "tired, dem run outta patience".

Richie Feelings said more information should be made available to the public to alleviate mental health stigma.

"Wi need more people fi come out and talk about it. Di Government need fi put out some people fi go do some one-and-one dialogue, send dem guh do some campaign like when dem a look vote...mek it be televised and use up di Internet to do good. Mek dem know di different types of it and the symptoms dem fi look for, what trigger it and so on," he encouraged.

"Mi wish Lisa di best because [she's] someone I like and when Lisa good, she very jovial and she laugh. She's a very fun person to be around. Suh wi affi just left har fi get the rest weh she need," he added.