Bruce Springsteen Opens Up About Depression Battle: 'I Was Crushed'
Bruce Springsteen Opens Up About How He Was 'Crushed' By Depression
PA for HuffPost UK
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Rock star Bruce Springsteen has spoken of his battle with depression, which he says left him "crushed" in his early 60s.
The Boss, 66, said he first saw a psychotherapist more than 30 years ago and his wife, singer Patti Scialfa, can "observe a freight train bearing down" during his bouts of mental illness.
According to Vanity Fair, Springsteen describes in his new autobiography, 'Born To Run', how he struggled with depression at the time of his 2012 album 'Wrecking Ball', which included the song 'This Depression'.
"I was crushed between 60 and 62, good for a year, and out again from 63 to 64," he writes. "Not a good record.
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Bruce Springsteen
"Patti will observe a freight train bearing down, loaded with nitroglycerin and running quickly out of track... she gets me to the doctors and says, 'This man needs a pill'."
In an interview with Vanity Fair ahead of the book's release, Springsteen also voiced fears he would suffer in the same way his father Douglas did before him.
"You don't know the illness's parameters," he told the magazine. "Can I get sick enough to where I become a lot more like my father than I thought I might?"
In his book, Springsteen says his father had relatives with prominent mental health issues, including agoraphobia and hair-pulling disorders, which were undiagnosed or not discussed.
"As a child, it was simply mysterious, embarrassing and ordinary," he wrote.
He also detailed his troubled relationship with his father, who was unable to tell his son "I love you", before his death in 1998.
"You'd hear his voice breaking up, but he couldn't get out the words."
Springsteen's memoir, Born to Run, is released on September 27.
Bruce Springsteen
(01 of16)
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An early photo of "The Boss." (credit:AP)
Hard Rock Calling 2012(02 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen performs live on stage during the second day of Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park in 2012. (credit:Getty)
2012(03 of16)
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Springsteen introduces John Fogerty at the Hard Rock Calling at Hyde Park. (credit:Getty)
2012(04 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt perform live on stage in 2012. (credit:Getty)
2012(05 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen performs live on stage during the second day of Hard Rock Calling. (credit:Getty)
Norway(06 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen performs at a concert in the City Hall Square in Oslo, Norway in 2012. (credit:AP)
European Tour 2012(07 of16)
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Springsteen performs on the first night of a European tour. (credit:AP)
Wrecking Ball Tour(08 of16)
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Nils Lofgren, left, Bruce Springsteen, center, and Steven Van Zandt perform with the E Street Band during the Wrecking Ball tour in 2012. (credit:AP)
Rolling Stone(09 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen is shown on the cover of Rolling Stone in 2012. (credit:AP)
Grammy Awards(10 of16)
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From left, Rusty Anderson, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Walsh, Paul McCartney, and Dave Grohl perform during the 54th annual Grammy Awards. (credit:AP)
The Stone Pony(11 of16)
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Willie Nile, center left, performs on stage with Garland Jeffries, left and Bruce Springsteen, right, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J. in 2008. (credit:AP)
With Clarence Clemons(12 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen performing with the late Clarence Clemons in 2007. (credit:AP)
Fairleigh Dickinson University(13 of16)
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Bruce Springsteen plays at Fairleigh Dickinson University less than a week after his induction into New Jersey's Hall of Fame in 2010. (credit:AP)
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Bruce Springsteen with Southside Johnny. (credit:Getty)