This Morning: Dr Chris reveals symptoms of his depression
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The band, famous for songs like Fortunate One, which featured in legendary Hollywood films like Forrest Gump, reached its peak in 1969 when it released three albums: Bayou Country, Green River, and Willy and the Boys. But the band broke up bitterly in 1972. Fogerty eventually created an esteemed solo career–he won a Grammy in 1997 for Blue Moon Swamp–but only after going through severe mental health problems.
According to Fogerty, the band was riddled with infighting and “resistance” as he took on more of a leadership role.
He told ABC News: “I was very proud of this band, that we were doing this together. It turned out I can do the heavy lifting. I evolved and sort of started pulling the reins, ‘No, this goes this way! This is it! I can see it!’ But I was pulling for the band, of course.”
“It always surprised to me that there was so much resistance that I found the ‘Northwest Passage’ – ‘Look, here it is, this is the way to go!’ And everyone started to really resist. I tried very hard to soothe everybody’s ego.”
After the band’s breakup, Fogerty spiraled into a depression.
When asked about the period after the breakup by Forbes, he said: “I was a raging alcoholic. I can talk openly now because it’s behind me, thank God.
“My heart had been so full of unhappiness. At the end, there was no easy, clearcut way out. If there was, I’d bottle it. Everyone makes their own decisions.”
Luckily, the star, who is sober now, met his current wife Julie whom he says “filled him with love”.
He said: “You hear about people on opioids now, You try to talk to them, but nothing happens until they talk to themselves, accept that they need help, want to change. For me, Julie and my family filled me with love.
“At first, my heart was a complete black hole. But love kept taking up more space, until it finally pushed all of the bitterness away. So there was absolutely no reason for me to be a drunk at that point.”
Research has in fact found that high-quality relationships are great for your mental health, lowering stress levels and depression.
Although, it is important to note that being happily single is better than being in an unhappy relationship, according to a study published in the Annals of Behavioural Medicine journal.
The NHS states that good relationships can help “build a sense of belonging and self-worth”.
They can also provide emotional support and allow you to support other people, as well as give the opportunity to share positive experiences.
The giving part of a relationship is also proven to improve mental well-being.
One recent study from 2021, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology found that making other people feel good can increase our own happiness.
Despite making improvements in his health, such as going sober, the star revealed that he struggled emotionally when he was writing his memoir in 2015, aptly named Fortunate Son.
He said: “I would say to Julie at the end of a day of working on stuff, ‘It just put all this stuff back in my brain and makes me kind of think about it again,'”
“Working on the book forced me to have that stuff back in my consciousness. It wasn’t pleasant, let’s put it that way.
“In some ways, the day the book was finally really finished, I was quite relieved to not have to be digging that up again.”
In the book, he writes openly about the legal battles that followed the band’s breakup.
The singer was taken to court by Fantasy Records, who own rights to Creedence Clearwater Revival’s music, including the songs John Fogerty wrote.
They suggested his solo hit The Old Man Down the Road, released in 1985, sounded too much like the Creedence song he wrote called Run Through the Jungle from 1970.
He emerged victorious from the trial in 1988.
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