Bruce Springsteen Opens Up About Struggles With Depression
"You don't know the illness's parameters," he said.
— -- In a new Vanity Fair cover story, Bruce Springsteen opens up about various topics that he discusses in his soon-to-be-published autobiography, "Born to Run," including his experience with depression.
Springsteen told the magazine that he often worries that he will wind up struggling with the disorder in a similar way to his father, Doug, who battled mental illness and alcoholism throughout his life.
"You don't know the illness's parameters," Springsteen said. "Can I get sick enough to where I become a lot more like my father than I thought I might?"
The 66-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer also revealed that he underwent some particularly severe bouts of depression not too long ago.
"I was crushed between 60 and 62, good for a year and out again from 63 to 64," he admitted. "Not a good record."
Springsteen pointed out in the book that touring tends to elevate his mood, and his most serious struggles take place while he's at home. He wrote that his wife, Patti Scialfa, often will notice if he is battling a dark mood and, if so, "She gets me to the doctors and says, 'This man needs a pill.'"
Scialfa told Vanity Fair that while she felt uncomfortable about her husband writing so candidly about his depression in his memoir, she realized it was therapeutic for him.
"A lot of his work comes from him trying to overcome that part of himself," she said.
Meanwhile, Springsteen also shares some details about his forthcoming solo album, which he describes as "more of a singer-songwriter kind of record." He revealed that the album's sound was inspired by 1960s "pop records with a lot of strings and instrumentation," like songwriter Jimmy Webb's collaborations with Glen Campbell.
The "Born to Run" book hits stores on Sept. 27.