Canadian Musician Alanis Morissette Discusses Mental Health in New Special, ETALK PRESENTS: ALANIS MORISSETTE

In an honest and unfiltered conversation, ETALK senior correspondent, Traci Melchor sits down for an exclusive interview with GRAMMY® and JUNO Award-winner, Alanis Morissette. Together, they discuss “normalizing” the mental health conversation, as Morissette details her struggles with postpartum depression and anxiety, and opens up about the importance of vulnerability in the new special ETALK PRESENTS: ALANIS MORISSETTE, airing Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET on CTV. During Melchor’s conversation with the Canadian icon, Morissette also chats about the 25^th anniversary of her generation-defining album Jagged Little Pill, the recent success of her Broadway musical of the same name, and her first new album in eight years, Such Pretty Forks in the Road. Here is some of what Morissette shared during her interview with Melchor: Speaking candidly about motherhood, Morissette reveals she experienced “postpartum activity” after the birth of each of her three children, ages 10, four, and 17-months-old. “I’m not doing too well, but I’m still smiling,” said Morissette, who is focused on destigmatizing this type of anxiety, depression, and shame, admitting, “I do know that there’s another side to it, and I also know that it’s better than ever before.” She adds, “I’m so excited that more of us are talking about [what motherhood can feel like] now, and there’s a lot more giggling going on, versus thinking, ‘wow I’m a freak,’ and everyone else feels so ‘normal.’” Reflecting on the 25^th anniversary of her record-breaking album Jagged Little Pill, as well as the success of her Broadway musical, and the meaningful, empowering impact the album still holds, Morissette believes “there’s a resonance…when we’re being authentic and vulnerable together,” adding, “it’s actually quite powerful for me.” Following the 1995 release of Jagged Little Pill, and the new growth and greater public conversation about mental health and wellness, Morissette shares one of the biggest turning points in her own mental wellness journey was, “understanding my temperaments, that I’m highly sensitive, and that I’m an empath. The more I understand it, the more empowered I feel to have no apology for the kind of temperament I have.” When deciding on the messaging behind mental health anthems such as “Ablaze” and “Smiling” on her latest album Such Pretty Forks in the Road, Morissette declares, “it actually happens after the fact. The living of the life for however many decades takes whatever time it does, but then the writing of the song is usually 20 minutes. At the end of the writing of a song, I definitely feel happily depleted.” In closing, Morissette tells Melchor her hope for fans to “take care of each other” during these challenging times in ETALK PRESENTS: ALANIS MORISSETTE.