Bruce Springsteen in devastating health update: 'I'm not the best company'

Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has opened up about his long-running battle with depression and revealed that staying busy is the one thing keeping him going.

The 75-year-old Born to Run singer has always worn his heart on his sleeve in his music, but speaking in a new interview, the star got brutally honest about the mental health struggles that still haunt him.

Bruce, affectionately known as The Boss by fans, has a career that spans more than five decades, and has never shied away from the darker themes in life by incorporating them into his tracks and speaking passionately about them at concerts.

It's fair to say that his moving lyrics have helped millions feel seen and understood.

Now, opening up a little bit more about the struggles that live in his own mind, he revealed how he copes with his mental health challenges and explained that staying immersed in his work has been a vital tool in keeping himself grounded.

Speaking to The Times, he revealed: "I work a lot. I love recording. It keeps me sane. I'm a better person when I'm working. I've learnt how to balance my work life with my home life so they're not disruptive to one another."

The 20-time Grammy winner then admitted: "I'm not the best company inside my head."

It's not the first time the star has spoken about his mental health. In previous interviews he's described being hit with "crippling depression" and spoke of a "pretty good breakdown" in his 30s, which pushed him to seek therapy.

Despite his challenges, Springsteen, whose decades-long career has included deeply introspective albums like Nebraska and The Ghost of Tom Joad, has never shied away from discussing his struggles with depression.

Earlier this year, Bruce opened up about his family's mental health history and his own "breakdown" while speaking to the Hollywood Reporter podcast, Awards Chatter.

Springsteen recalled "difficult times" throughout his childhood that were "exacerbated by the fact that my father was plagued by mental illness most of his life."

He said: "And my family was filled with mental illness, my aunts, my uncles, my pop, and it just was in our blood, so I had to deal with it too. And thankfully, Mr. [Jon] Landau had some experience with it and directed me in to get some help, which I did."