Ed Sheeran and his new album: Wife's tumor and the death of a friend cause depression

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Ed Sheeran will release his new album Subtract in a few days. Sheeran revealed that he prepared this album for a long time and that certain life situations had a great influence on him during his work on this album. Sheeran revealed that his wife was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant with their second child.

In addition, his close friend Jamal Edwards passed away last year. "I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.

Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art."- Sheeran said, as quoted by ok.co.uk

Ed Sheeran and depression

At that moment Sheeran felt anxious, he had depression, and it was not easy to bear it all.

"Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter.

I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety." This album will be an opportunity for him to talk about his "inner struggles" and to show the pain he carried with himself. "I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.

As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that.

It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life."