Eddie Van Halen’s widow, Janie Van Halen, has recently opened up about her long-term struggles with PTSD and anxiety following Eddie’s tragic passing in 2020.
For someone who has largely stayed out of the spotlight, this revelation is a rare and deeply personal insight into her pain, her healing process, and how music ultimately helped her cope.
In a rare video message posted on Instagram, Janie revealed her PTSD diagnosis, saying that she had reached a darkest point in her life after experiencing significant loss in a short period of time.
She admitted to going through waves of emotions—from anger to sadness, frustration to deep depression. But most importantly, she shared how music helped her heal, giving her a focus outside of her thoughts and emotions.
“Hey everybody, happy Wednesday. It’s Janie and Pepper,” she started her words. “Yesterday I put a press release out for a new client, Garnish Music LA. They are offering free music classes to students 14 to 18 years of age that have been impacted by the recent wildfires here in Southern California.”
Janie continued, “Today I wanted to give you a little background of my own experience with Garnish Music. Several years ago, I was at the darkest point in time of my life. After experiencing a lot of significant loss in a very short amount of time, I was diagnosed with extreme and long-term PTSD and anxiety.”
“I was having all the emotions. I was pissed, I was mad, I was sad, I was depressed, angry,” she shared. “And by having to show up somewhere and actually focus on something besides everything that was going on in my head and to get lost in the music gave me a form of therapy I don’t think I could have gotten anywhere else.”
Janie went on to talk about how music helped her, “It really helped in the recovery of some of these things that I was experiencing.”
