Bruce Springsteen reminds us that depression is far from being a new illness

Bruce Springsteen opened up about his mental health issues during the release of Deliver Me From Nowherea film that explores the difficult time he experienced while recording his 1982 album Nebraska. Guest of Breakfast Show from BBC Radio 2, the 75-year-old singer recalled that in his time, if we talked less about depression, it was not because fewer people were affected but rather because the subject was totally taboo.

“In the 1950s and 1960s, no one knew anything about this subject. People just had to endure their suffering,” Bruce Springsteen told British radio.

The rocker speaks from knowledge, since several members of his family, including his father and some of his aunts and cousins, suffered from mental health problems. “No one was getting any help. There was no medication or psychological support. People were really left to their own devices,” he added.

A persistent shame

The Boss admitted to having been fortunate to benefit from the support of his manager Jon Landau during his first depression, which the film accurately depicts. “I had no idea what was happening to me,” said Bruce Springsteen, who for a long time felt deeply uncomfortable at the idea of ​​consulting a psychiatrist.

“For years, I almost dressed up before entering the office. I wore a baseball cap and glasses, I looked everywhere around me and I slipped away as quickly as possible,” said Bruce Springsteen, adding in passing that he grew up in an environment where asking for this type of help was seen as humiliating. Fortunately, mentalities have since evolved enormously even if there is still a long way to go for the recognition and care of people suffering from depressive disorders.