Shania Twain has opened up about her mental health and the depression she fell into following the end of her marriage to producer Robert “Mutt” Lange.
“There were days I didn’t really care if tomorrow came,” the Canadian singer told AARP Magazine.
In 2003, Twain was diagnosed with a neurological larynx disorder called dysphonia, which was linked to Lyme disease.
“I was slowly losing my voice and slowly losing my confidence,” she recalled, “and nothing that I could achieve in my career made me feel good enough.”
Twain described feeling like she was in quicksand. “I panicked, like everybody does, but I didn’t surrender. I found a way out.”
The 54-year-old singer said she has learned how to better deal with obstacles and challenges.
“Sometimes I get overwhelmed coping with things, but experience also teaches you how to manage,” explained Twain. “When you get older, you have so much experience at falling and getting up. You’re not going to stop falling. But you will get better at getting up and brushing yourself off. I believe that. I’ve lived it.”
She is also more comfortable with her body now than when she was younger. “It was really a struggle back then. But with age, you ask: ‘OK, how many more years do I have to live, and do I really want to live them feeling negative about myself and the things I can’t change?’
“Age brings perspective. Every day I learn something new. And I plan on doing that till the day I die.”
The full interview with Twain appears in the February/March issue of AARP Magazine.