Add ‘80s rocker Rick Springfield to the list of celebrities who have spoken out about about battling depression in hopes of helping others.
“I’m an example of the moment passing,” Springfield revealed during a Monday, January 16, appearance on Good Morning America. “I’ve been there a couple of times, and haven’t . . . for a want of better phrase, pulled the trigger.”
The 68-year-old “Jessie’s Girl” singer attempted suicide at age 16. “I put the noose around the thing and stood on a chair and kicked it away and hung there for a while until I started to lose consciousness,” he recalled. “The rope broke or came undone. I still don’t know what happened.”
Decades later, Springfield still struggles with crippling bouts of depression and even contemplated suicide just last year. “I was close enough,” he said. “I worked my way through it. Which I’ve always done.”
The Grammy winner added that success and fame have never eased his depression. “Accomplishment is nothing, it doesn’t change who care you,” he explained. “That’s a big belief. You know . . . ‘If I have this house, I have this wife, I have this car.’ Fame and success and money do not heal.”
Though the Australia native takes medication to manage his mental illness, he knows it is something he will deal with for the rest of his life. As he said on Good Morning America: “It’s something you kind of become acclimatized to . . . almost like a friend.”
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
