Fourteen-year-old Eden Paige is more than wise beyond her years. The Canadian singer-songwriter is a passionate advocate for mental health, actively raising awareness around it, along with spreading hope and positivity. After a close friend confided in Eden of her inner turmoil and pain, Eden was so overwhelmed with emotion, she turned them into beautiful songs filled with compassion and encouragement. With her first single, “Save Me,” she offers empowerment and motivation to stand up to mental health and break down any barriers and challenges it brings.
The music video for “Save Me” features stories of various mental health issues teenagers face in high school, consisting of bullying, assault, peer pressure, and other trauma, that’s depicted physically and metaphorically, and all of these characters are suffering deeply within, when Eden comes along and lends a helping hand, singing for their recovery (Hip Video Promo). The deeply honest, poignant, and truth-telling video features a PSA at the end reminding viewers that there is help and that they are never alone.
Eden had an insightful conversation with us about her personal experiences with mental health and advocacy for it, the realistic storyline surrounding the video for her new single, “Save Me,” and the message she hopes to convey to listeners.
I Love that you use your voice to encourage others to be positive and kind. If you don’t mind, can you share your personal experiences that encouraged you to promote this aspect with your music?
Eden Paige: I personally know many teens that struggle with their mental health on some level. I have friends who have struggled with everything from mild anxiety, eating disorders, sexual identity, and self-harm. There was one specific experience though that moved me to want to help other teens through my music. A couple of years ago, a close friend came to me and expressed that she was feeling depressed. She was self-harming and was also experiencing bullying. Her parents were going through a divorce which was hard on her at the time. Hearing someone I loved sound so broken and hopeless broke my heart. Hearing her story and then also seeing others around me struggling, made me realize how big of an issue youth mental health really is. At first, when I heard my friend’s story, I was scared and overwhelmed. I coped with my emotions in the way I best knew how, through songwriting.
I love that you’re an advocate for mental health awareness. What about it specifically speaks so
deeply to you?
Eden: It has just always been a part of me to naturally want to help others. I feel like I am someone who people can trust and come to when they are needing someone to talk to. Many kids, even if they realize they have a problem, are too afraid to talk about it and they sometimes don’t know where to get help. Seeing people I care about struggling has always made me want to do something to help and I feel like I have the inner strength to do that. I think it is a part of my nature to be a problem solver and I like fixing things and making people feel better. When I was younger, I had mild anxiety issues that I was able to overcome, and I think that having that personal experience also made me empathize with others. I hope that I can be an advocate for teen mental health by helping teachers, parents and other teens better understand what some teens are going through. Growing up is hard enough and struggling with your mental health and bullying can make it even harder. I hope to be someone approachable that can help and be an inspiration to others. I am excited to be partnering with a local organization, Love My Mind, where I will have the opportunity to help spread awareness and accomplish some of these goals.
I love that your music video for “Save Me” features so many different faces of your peers. Was that your idea or a combination of yours and the director?
Eden: When thinking of the storyline for the video, I knew that I wanted several different stories intertwined. I wanted to represent teenagers who are struggling with a variety of issues. I wanted to portray the reality that sometimes people who are closest to them, don’t realize that anything is wrong. Mental health can be an invisible struggle for many individuals. I also knew by the end of the video that I wanted to show the main characters finding the courage within themselves to reach out. However, it was the director, Dylan Hryciuk, from Versa Films, that took this idea to an entirely new level. He created the characters and their stories and brought them to life. I think that most people that watch the video can see pieces of themselves or someone they know in at least one of the characters.
What message do you ultimately hope listeners and viewers take away from the video and song for “Save Me”?
Eden: I hope “Save Me” can start conversations and help people realize that things like anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, and other mental health issues are very real and are affecting many teens. Mental health touches everyone at some point, and I want to help struggling teens find the courage to take that first step of reaching out, whether to a friend, teacher, coach, counselor, or through a helpline. I want “Save Me” to provide a feeling of hope, educate, spread awareness, and let youth know that they have people that are by their side.
