Watch Bruce Springsteen Discuss His Ongoing Battle With Depression On ‘CBS Sunday Morning’

Bruce Springsteen comes off as a tough-ass dude. His songs represent pride, strength, and resiliency. From the outside looking in, you would think Bruce is a rock that lets nothing phase him. Sadly,”The Boss” struggles with something millions of Americans do every day — mental illness.

In an appearance earlier today on CBS Sunday Morning, Bruce Springsteen opened up about a multitude of topics in advance of the release of his autobiography Born To Run, including his bout with depression, and how he manages to cope with it. Springsteen spoke about how the episodes of depression come and go, and how he does his damnedest to hide them from those close to him.

“It sneaks up on you. It’s like this thing that engulfs you. I got to where I didn’t want to get out of bed, you know? And you’re not behaving well at home and you’re tough on everybody. Hopefully not the kids. I always try to hide it from the kids. But you know, Patti really had to work with me through it. And her strength and the love she had was very important as far as guiding me through it. She said, ‘Well, you’re gonna be okay. Maybe not today or tomorrow! But it’s gonna be all right.'”

Springsteen also elaborated on his relationship with the late E Street saxophonist Clarence “The Big Man” Clemons, and how they both battled some of the same insecurities and demons on a daily basis.

“It was very primal,” Springsteen said of their relationship. “It was just, ‘Oh, you’re some missing part of me. You’re some dream I’m having.’ He was this huge force, you know? While at the same time being very fragile and very dependent himself, which is maybe what the two of us had in common. We were both kind of insecure down inside. And we both felt kind of fragile and unsure of ourselves. But when we were together we felt really powerful.”

The 66-year-old musician has recently been extremely open about episodes of depression that popped up between ages 60 and 64. Springsteen mentions that he’s always in fear that he will succumb to some of the same issues his own father had when he was younger. He blames a combination of surgery to repair chronic numbness in his left side that was negatively impacting his performances, and his hectic schedule on the mental illness struggles.

Springsteen’s autobiography Born to Run hits shelves September 27th.

(Via Rolling Stone)

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