Pop-singer Shakira recently opened up about her struggles with depression after the 2017 haemorrhage of her right vocal cord.

The 42-year-old singer who will headline the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show with singer Jennifer Lopez, told The Guardian that not being able to sing was “unbearable” during the haemorrhage, reported Fox News.

“It was my identity,” said Shakira. “There were times I couldn’t even get out of bed, I was so depressed.” The haemorrhage resulted in her having to use sign language to communicate with her family, including her husband and soccer star Gerard Pique, and their two young sons.

The ‘Waka Waka’ singer was also forced to postpone a world tour. “I was not positive,” she recalled. “I was so pessimistic. I was a bitter person to be around. Gerard saw the worst of me.” Despite advice from doctors to go under the knife, Shakira tried some alternative healing methods like hypnosis and meditation. She drank holy water from Lourdes, France.

Shakira told The Guardian that she either needed surgery or “divine intervention,” reported Fox News. Ultimately, Shakira’s alternative methods worked, though, and she was able to begin singing again in 2018, calling each night of her El Dorado tour “a gift.