‘I don’t know if I can live like this,’ says Bruce Springsteen of his mental health struggles.
At his lowest point in life, Bruce Springsteen wondered if he even wanted to live. The 72-year-old actor recently opened up about his and his family’s “dangerous” battle with mental health issues.
Bruce Springsteen has had several mental breakdowns throughout his career, the first of which occurred unexpectedly when he was 32, he told Esquire in 2016.
The star, dubbed “The Boss,” was driving from New York to Los Angeles with a friend following the release of his album Nebraska. The sight of men and women holding hands and a band playing on their journey triggered an unsettling reaction.
Springsteen, who admitted to suffering from “agitated depression” for many years, described himself as “an observer… away from the normal messiness of living and loving.”
Years later, the rocker told Esquire that he still doesn’t know what triggered his feelings of emptiness, though he speculated that it could be repressed trauma from bad childhood relationships.
“All I know is that as we get older, the weight of our unsorted baggage grows heavier… much heavier.
“Each year, the cost of our refusal to do that sorting rises…”
The star has written in his memoirs Born to Run about having a strained relationship with his dad, whom he said: “loved me, but he couldn’t stand me”.
Springsteen spoke candidly to Esquire about his depression in his 30s and 60s, as well as how his family has suffered from mental health issues.
“During this period, I was so profoundly uncomfortable in my skin that I just wanted OUT,” he explained. It feels dangerous and brings up a lot of negative thoughts.
“All that awaited was doom and gloom.”
