During her school years, DJ Tigerlily, a.k.a Dara Hayes, was a driven student who achieved academically and strived for perfection in her everyday life.
While the now 25-year-old exudes the confidence and vivaciousness of a superstar, inside her head tells a very different story – one of anxiety and self-judgement.
As an ambassador for the R U OK movement, Dara shared her story with Now to Love and how opening up to her mum saved her life.
“When I was in year 12, I was so focused on getting that crash hot 99.5 UAI (University Admissions Index) and I was struggling so much internally with controlling food, my exercise and how I looked, and I honestly thought at the time, it was the be all and end all,” she recalled.
“As it got progressively worse and worse, I went to my mum who is one of my best friends, and told her that I needed to get help.”
Dara’s mum then sent her to a psychologist who was also a hypnotherapist, and they worked together for six months.
“I can confidently say that she saved my life,” she said.
Now, the international star has different struggles – social media, anxiety before performances, late nights, a full calendar and very little down time, but she uses the tools she learnt and hopes that teenagers will do the same that she did.
“I was so lucky because I could reach out to my mum when I was younger,” Dara said. “Not a lot of kids can feel like they can, so it’s important to have someone they can talk to.”
With this, the musician has some experience based advice:
“Try and be open with your kid so that they will talk to you about stuff,” she said. “I was lucky because I was able to talk to my mum, and some of my friends at school couldn’t talk about anything.”
Dara Hayes is an ambassador for ‘R U OK’ day.
“Be an aspirational role model for your kids,” she also suggests. “If you’re kids are going to see you looking on your phone or on the computer, then they will also do the same thing. But if you’re going out, playing tennis, walking the dog, then I think long term, it will have a profound impact on their lives and the way they live them.”
Dara a.k.a DJ Tigerlily is an ambassador for R U OK day. Find out more information HERE.
