Anxiety disorder is the most common mental illness in the USA, affecting 18% of the population in people 18 years or older. It affects over 40 million people. Shockingly, only about one third of all those affected by this disorder are receiving treatment. Recently, members of A Lot Like Birds, Hail the Sun, I the Mighty, and A Perception launched a collaborative musical project called [sufferer] to help bring this issue to light. Hail the Sun guitarist Shane Gann is the head of this project.

“The concept is simple: Experience a day in the life of someone who suffers from extreme anxiety,” the project’s Kickstarter page reads. [sufferer] is a concept album about the everyday struggles a person who deals with anxiety disorder goes through as told by three different characters: The Subject (Forrest Wright, A Perception), the Subject’s anxiety (Cory Lockwood, A Lot Like Birds), and the Subject’s depression (Shane Gann, Hail the Sun).

“The first person I recruited was Cory, who has one of my favorite screams ever and is probably my favorite lyricist, especially out of those I know personally. Then I knew I needed a heavy-hitting drummer, and Cory recommended Blake, another one of our close friends/touring brothers. Finally, we needed the third voice, the Subject of our story, and after some thought, I remembered Forrest, a vocalist from Arizona who Cory had introduced the rest of us to on tour a couple years ago. Forrest has what  the scream we all wish we had when we’re trying to get our point across. It’s massive and captivating and very different than either Cory’s or my own, which we all think will work extremely well, especially in the later half of the album when the Subject really starts to gain some footing in his own head.” Shane Gann said in an email.

The album idea comes from the members’ own battles with anxiety disorder. Each member deals with it to some extent. They hope this album will let people know that they are not alone in their suffering.

“After going through my own anti-anxiety programs and therapy, I had a pretty good grasp on my negative thoughts. However, even though my own anxiety was under control, my relationships with others continued to falter, due to their anxieties. This inability to escape the issue completely led to my fully embracing anxiety as an unavoidable, natural part of life, and my decision to write an album was born. I want the world to understand how acceptable it is to have anxiety, or to be affected by it, so that all of us understand we’re not alone in our struggles,” Gann said.

Anxiety issues can come from disorders other than just anxiety disorder.

“I’ve struggled with OCD issues for a number of years. I’ve learned how to deal with them and not let them control my life anymore, but it’s been a process for sure,” drummer Blake Dahlinger said in an email.

The band’s name, [sufferer] comes from the idea that anyone can suffer from issues like anxiety. According to Gann, it comes from an [insert name here] idea, saying that anyone can struggle with these issues.

[sufferer] is currently completely written, but it still needs money to be funded. It is up on Kickstarter and it is only about $500 shy of finishing the $10,000 goal. There are only three days left though, so the time is counting down. There are excellent perks to donating, and if the perks themselves aren’t enough of a motivator to contribute, 30% of all funds made from the [sufferer] project will go to the ADAA (Anxiety and Depression Association of America).

“We’re donating a percentage of what we make on this project straight to the ADAA. I know we’d like to be able to work in conjunction with them as much as possible,” Dahlinger said.

The album is already completely written, so if the project raises the full $10,000 then it will be released as soon as recording and mastering is done.

“Assuming we raise the funds (I’m still optimistic), we’ll record later this summer, leaving the mixing process to take place during the fall, and a release date of late 2015 or (more likely) early 2016. We have to work around all our bands’ schedules, but a few days in the studio for each of us won’t be too hard to get, though they might not be entirely sequential. The album is 10 songs, and I believe the running time is approximately 35 to 40 minutes or so, which is the perfect length, in my opinion, as it will ideally be the kind of record you want to start over as soon as it ends,” Gann said.

[sufferer] is a project that will mean a lot to many people. This band will hopefully reach out to many people who never would have had the courage to stand up and face their problems head on.

“None of us is suffering alone, and the more we continue to support each other, the easier our own personal struggles become. Also,  if anyone ever wants to talk to me about their own personal anxieties, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected], or message me on my personal Facebook. I’m more than happy to discuss the programs I went through and help any way I can,” Gann said.

There are still a few days left to contribute to the Kickstarter, and [sufferer] needs everyone’s help to reach their goal. To contribute, follow the link below, and make sure to like [sufferer] on Facebook to stay updated on the project.

Sufferer: A Day with Anxiety