If ever there was a time when attention should be paid to mental health, that time is now as we wrestle with a pandemic which has created a new normal. One of the top reggae artistes in Barbados, Buggy Nhakente, shared with Better Health how he managed during the lockdown, and how he is coping now that his livelihood through live performing is almost nonexistent.
“I remember waking up one morning around 4:30 to watch a Moto GP weekend of racing back in March of 2020. I waited, but no race. Later it was announced that no sporting activities would be possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Within roughly a week and a half the world was in lockdown. This meant I wouldn’t be able to travel whether regionally or internationally to do any shows to generate income.
How was it even possible that this could happen? And how long would this continue?” he said, acknowledging that coping was more than just maintaining physical health.
“I needed to reassure myself amidst all the uncertainty that I could keep focused and be fit mentally and physically. I figured if I could wake up at 4:30 a.m. to watch these athletes I should be able to do this for myself, especially as an artiste who also wants to operate at the highest level. I already have a plant-based diet and had been into mountain biking and motocross riding since around age 20. However, my family and career left little time for these activities … or so I thought.
“Being in a lockdown presented the perfect opportunity to focus on and create a more suitable and practical routine when it came to my exercise.
My mentor had spoken to me about the importance of breathing, meditation, and getting the required amount of rest in order to recharge my energy and build effective physical and spiritual practices.
“Lockdown had presented a favourable environment for me to undertake such. I put myself in the shoes of a four-year-old now learning a new skill, and focused on meditation and breathing which is one of the dominant tools for singing. For me, meditation is a mental programming you give to yourself which guides you to act in accordance with your dreams and goals in life. Meditation and deep breathing techniques can be beneficial to anyone and not just musicians,” he shared.
As a performing artiste, Buggy, real name Ryan Chase, is accustomed to frenetic activity, which did not seem to ease up even during the lockdown. In a decorated career which spans over 20 years, he has accredited himself to become a top artiste unapologetic and unafraid to produce conscious and uplifting work. In those two decades, Buggy has won many music awards, and toured Canada, the UK, and over 50 cities in the US and shared the stage with mega stars like Ja Rule, Ashanti, Sean Paul, Tony Rebel, Sizzla, Beres Hammond, Shaggy, Jah Cure, Queen Ifrica, Buju Banton, Anthony B and many more. In 2011 he was voted Barbados’ Reggae Artist of the Year, and in that same year he did a short tour in Liverpool, England, which included a performance at the Paul McCartney Auditorium, and gained the distinction of being the first reggae artiste to have ever performed there.
“There were many distractions during the period of the pandemic, so discipline could have been very difficult to maintain. Being quite excited about building this programme the minute there was an ease in the lockdown I went straight into my trail riding routine. Within two weeks I had worked out a decent programme which I could develop. I got up at 4 30 a.m., not to watch a race but to get a small breakfast and start riding at 5:30 a.m. I did at least 18 miles three times a week, as well as two hours of tennis two evenings weekly, and some suspension body weight training; and most importantly, I have fun,” he said, adding that most of what he did was done from his home studio. “ One would have the perception that I had so much things doing I would’ve easily gotten through the period. However, no adult wants to be told when, what, and how to do it. We want to come and go as we please, so here’s discipline coming into play again, only on a mental level this time. Without the previous things I had mentioned being in one place for such an extended period of time and working towards being efficient in an environment that is foreign to you, especially if you have to completely change your daily operations in some cases, could create a sometimes very irate person.
“Waking up early, meditation, simple but specific physical exercises as well as my trail riding has been my personal saving grace throughout this pandemic period thus far. My wife, family and my team Odyssey Entertainment have been supporting and guiding me and my company through such a questionable period.
My team made sure to align requested interviews so I could continue to build my engagement and speaking muscles.
They made sure I kept pushing myself and learning more about the administrative and business side of music, and I’m learning there’s also a health aspect attached to that. It is beneficial to have mental and physical fitness in your life which helps you to focus and keeps you naturally healthy. This period has presented an opportunity for anyone who wants to improve or even start on their route to better health, after all, there was probably never a time we had the time,” Buggy said.
And how he maintained good physical and mental health was easy for him.
“I did it by staying happy and doing things I loved. Yes, I have ventured out of my comfort zone in terms of my experiences, but in terms of my spirituality and my support mechanisms, I have not strayed from that. My diet is very important to me – what I intake. I’m not full vegan, I still use fish, and I do have a sweet tooth,” he admitted.
“I like chocolate and cheesecake; it’s a real weakness, a kryptonite to me, but I stay away from it. I stay away from the things that could expose me to become weak. I have a discipline and I try to maintain that discipline in my life. That’s it…a discipline, physical and spiritual discipline,” the singer/
songwriter affirmed.
“ I make sure salad is a big part of my life, and you know there is this egodriven thing about men, like a real man eats a burger and people think you’re not a real man if you don’t eat meat, but I don’t. It’s not part of my spirituality. My diet helps me to maintain my discipline and my spirituality.
“ If you don’t use foods that don’t create a good environment for health in your body, foods that clog your arteries and build up fat around your heart, you’re free to breathe easier, your view of things is much more open, your body feels relaxed, your body flows more, your posture is better, you walk more upright, you put your chest out, you speak better, your hair and skin look different,” he said, confessing that he was a ‘grandmother child’ so vegetables and fish were staples.
Good diet is critical to good physical health; and Buggy asser ts that good mental health is just as important. He advises talking as a coping mechanism, especially considering the stress and pressure artistes must be under at this time.
“ I think people need to talk, ar tistes need to talk. I use music to expose those things in my life. Talking to your friends and family and having their appreciation is one thing, but to actually have a conversation about one of your real fears, show them your emotions and let go of your emotion at that point in time, I found that talking was probably the best coping mechanism in dealing with
the pandemic,” he offered as his method.
“I have a mountain bike and I just get on it and I ride. Being out there in the trails and nature and away from people sometimes allows you time to think.
However, most artistes are already alone and a lot of them don’t like to admit it.
That’s why we sometimes have eight and nine people around us, but when we go home we’re alone. So talking helps. Even if you express yourself to yourself. Let it out, speak it out.
“Most of us are religious or spiritual in some way and the deity or force we depend on to guide us throughout the journey of life, that in turn helps us. So letting out, letting go, letting out your emotions, that helps. And exercise – that is always a good coping mechanism. Do one that you love. A simple exercise, and I’m not saying go in a gym and try to lift 300 pounds or anything like that,” he said with a laugh.
The outstanding theme running through Buggy’s message was discipline – discipline applied to physical health, mental health and spiritual health.
Discipline he affirms, will help people to cope in times of pressure.
“Discipline on a spiritual level leads to discipline on a physical level; in turn that leads to discipline on a mental level. Saying that may just sound philosophical and like ‘he trying to be the big man and blah blah blah’. But if you are rooted and grounded in your spirituality that will cause you to want to be physically strong. That spiritual is your physical manifested here and you will want that to reflect your strength, so you will want to eat the right things that keep you strong. You will find that diet which works for you. Keep yourself rooted in your spirituality and it will reflect mentally and physically. That’s your trinity of life.”
