Singer Sheryl Crow has had the best two years of her life - because she's fought back from an emotional breakdown.

The All I Wanna Do rocker battled a particularly debilitating bout of depression two years ago which left her almost bedridden for six months. But embarking upon a course of exercise, therapy and anti-depressant PROZAC helped put the Missouri native back on track.

She says, "It's been a spectacular couple of years. Probably my happiest. I would never have thought that back then, when I was too tearful to even leave the house.

"During some of those darkest days, I'd hardly get out of bed and just let the phone ring and ring. Small problems became insurmountable and so I shied away from normal behaviour. It seemed easier to duck out of life that way. Depression messed with my sleep in such a way that it was a very bizarre, exhausting and dark time."

However, the SOAK UP THE SUN musician found her spirits lifting when she hit 40 last year (02).

She adds, "When I turned 40, it was like a great release for me. Instead of focusing on the chaos of the future, what might or might-not be, I knew that I had to concentrate on the day-to-day aspects of my life.

"For some reason, surrounded by my friends on my birthday, it was like there was a sudden break in the clouds. Depression goes away as suddenly as it descends."

14/10/2003 17:04