ozzy osbourne opens up about experiencing depression, living with parkinson's
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ozzy osbourne was diagnosed with parkinson's in 2003 but kept the news private until january 2020. (photo by jim watson/afp via getty images)
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the prince of darkness says he is coming back. ozzy osbourne, 73, intends to go on tour after a hard few years that saw him revealing a parkinson’s diagnosis, facing multiple surgeries for a serious injury and battling symptoms of depression.
“i reached a plateau that was lower than i wanted it to be,” osbourne said in an interview with the guardian. “nothing really felt great. nothing.”
osbourne was diagnosed with parkinson’s disease in 2003 but kept the news private until january 2020, after a 2019 fall caused him to cancel an upcoming tour. the fall exacerbated a previous injury from a 2003 quad biking accident and required rather significant surgery to stabilize his neck and back. doctors positioned 15 screws into the singer’s spine, but over time these screws began to slip, causing more damage to the bone and leaving osbourne in excruciating pain.
“it got so bad that at one point i thought: ‘oh god, please don’t let me wake up tomorrow morning.’ because it was f—–g agony,” said osbourne.
the singer turned to medication and therapy — something he never would have done as a child in england, osbourne previously explained on his sirius xm channel.
“when i was a kid in england, you would not go to a therapist because they’d think you were f—–g crazy,” he said about his decision to seek help. turning to drawing also helped “get your head out of your own head.”
osbourne’s experience with depression after parkinson’s diagnosis all too common
almost half of patients diagnosed with parkinson’s will also experience symptoms of depression, according to parkinson’s canada.
the connection is thought to be a combination of the lifestyle changes that occur as the disease progresses, as well as a direct consequence of changes in brain chemistry caused by parkinson’s. these changes include a decrease in available dopamine, as well as alterations to neural pathways that influence the patient’s mood.
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research indicates these emotional symptoms can occur years before the physical symptoms of parkinson’s, further supporting the chemical link between these two conditions.
most cases of depression are considered “nonmajor,” and are generally more mild. however, even mild forms of depression can have a significant impact on how the parkinson’s progresses, leading to faster physical deterioration, greater cognitive impairment and increased mortality, according to a review published in current neurology and neuroscience reports. the combination can also lead to more stress on caregivers, increasing rates of burnout.
symptoms generally respond to a combination of therapy and antidepressant medications, but first doctors have to recognize the disease.
diagnosing depression can be difficult, as many of the symptoms overlap with that of parkinson’s. for example, decreased energy, poor concentration, changes in appetite and impaired memory are common in both diagnoses. parkinson’s can also impact a patient’s facial features, which can mask changes in emotion.
osbourne hopeful for the future
osbourne is confident about his future. he appeared at the closing ceremony for birmingham’s commonwealth games, performing iron man and paranoid with black sabbath guitarist tony iommi. osbourne also said he is driven to go back on tour, in support of his new album patient number 9, released earlier this year.
“you learn to live in the moment, because you don’t know [what’s going to happen],” osbourne said.
emma jones is a multimedia editor with healthing. you can reach her at emjones@postmedia.com or on instagram and twitter @jonesyjourn.
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