Eric Bass says his ongoing mental health struggle has challenged his relationship with God, even as the Shinedown bassist continues to hold onto his faith. During episode 50 of Talk O’Tuesdays, Bass described feeling spiritually distant and emotionally exhausted after stepping away from touring this summer to focus on his health.
In the conversation with cohost John Guarnieri, Bass said his time away did not produce a simple or steady recovery. He described difficulty beginning tasks and frustration over what he viewed as lost productivity. Although he recognized that stepping back created space for treatment, he said he had not found a consistent sense of progress and remained in therapy.
That uncertainty extended into his faith. Bass said he had not abandoned his beliefs, but acknowledged that “right now I don’t feel close to God.” Rather than presenting faith as an immediate source of relief, he characterized this period as having to continue believing without the reassurance or comfort he had previously felt.
Bass used the image of a desert to describe where he currently finds himself. He said he wanted to emerge from that period and feel carried for a moment. His hope, he explained, was not for more possessions or professional success. He spoke instead about needing emotional support and said he was “waiting on God to carry me.”
That distinction led Bass to speak candidly about the personal cost of achievement. Recording studios, property and cars were blessings, he said, but they did not remove the demands surrounding his career. He recalled feeling happier when he lived in a smaller home or apartment and acknowledged that he has struggled to accept the price that can accompany success.
The discussion follows Bass’s July 10 video announcement that he would miss the beginning of Shinedown’s North American tour. As Loudwire reported, Bass said he had experienced a “pretty serious mental health crash” and did not believe returning to the road immediately would be safe.
Bass also explained why he chose to disclose what had happened instead of quietly disappearing from the tour. He did not want his absence to fuel speculation or suggest that he was ashamed, particularly after he and Shinedown had encouraged others to speak openly about mental health. Bass said asking for help was difficult, but it began a healing process he could not handle alone.
At the time of his announcement, Bass said he was receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation at the Medical University of South Carolina while continuing talk therapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, TMS is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells involved in mood regulation and may be used to treat depression.
During the podcast, Bass said the treatment initially produced a period when he felt significantly better, but that relief did not last. He was careful not to claim the treatment caused the setback. Instead, he described recovery as uncertain and said he had been trying to regain the feeling of waking up and going to sleep without depression weighing on him.
Mental health has also shaped Bass’s work outside Shinedown. While discussing his 2025 solo album, 'Eric Bass Presents: I Had a Name,' he told Antihero Magazine that its characters represented different parts of his neurodivergence and mental health journey, including the depression that had entered his life over time.
Bass did not offer listeners a clean resolution or claim that the crisis had passed. He said he remains in therapy, continues to believe and is trying to understand what this period means for him spiritually. His update presented faith as something he is still practicing while working through depression, not a shortcut around the difficult work of recovery.
