Stevie Nicks Thinks Younger Generations Are Going Down a ‘Bad Road’
Stevie Nicks has often shared her hard-earned wisdom with the younger musicians in her life. She also spends a good deal of time with young artists and her godchildren. Because of this, the Fleetwood Mac musician worries that young people are heading down the wrong path. She shared why she believes this and why she thinks things are worse than when she was young.
Stevie Nicks shared her only regrets from her time in Fleetwood Mac
When Nicks was in Fleetwood Mac, her cocaine usage escalated to the point that she could die of a brain hemorrhage if she were to use it even more time. To save her life, Nicks checked into the Betty Ford Clinic and has not used cocaine since. When she left, however, those around her were worried about her health.
Nicks went to a psychiatrist to quell these worries, and he prescribed the tranquilizer Klonopin to help her sleep and ensure she stayed off cocaine. She profoundly regrets ever taking it.
“It’s a very subtle drug; you just don’t feel it much, or so you think. On the bottle, it says: ‘Take as needed.’ That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” she told The Guardian. “So you think: ‘Well, I need it every two hours.’ It’s addiction in a bottle.”
She said that she felt sapped of all her creative energy during this time.
“It was a totally non-time. I just existed,” she said. “It took away all my wonderful drama, my tempestuousness, my compassion, my empathy – all those things that drove me to my piano. I say to myself now: ‘How did you survive eight years without your wonderful drama?’”
She said that she is worried for younger generations
Years later, Nicks has expressed her frustration at the fact that she believed cocaine was safe and nonaddictive. She worries that these days, people feel the same way about tranquilizers.
“I lost my godson to an overdose of Xanax and alcohol at a frat party two years ago, three weeks before my mom died,” she told AARP. “And I see a lot of young people heading down a bad road, so I’m much more worried about their mortality rate than mine. It makes me realize life is precious, and that I need to keep in contact with all my friends.”
Nicks is concerned about the accessibility of drugs for young people.
“[Drugs are] just so prevalent,” she said, per NME. “It’s everywhere. It’s worse than when we were young.”
Stevie Nicks is also concerned about the prevalence of technology
Nicks also believes that younger generations are overly reliant on technology. She wonders if Internet dating has “nailed romance to the wall.”
“People who call me up and say, ‘Oh my God, I met this gorgeous man and I totally fell in love with him,’ and I’m like, ‘Tell me more!’ But it’s not happening near as much,” she told Rolling Stone. “Girls, don’t take it personally. It’s not you — it’s the Internet. There has to be romance before there can be love and it’s very hard to find romance in this hardcore high-tech world.”
She offered very specific dating advice for those looking for love: “Throw away your f***ing phone.”
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357
