There’s always been something inscrutable about Jack White. From his outfits to his occasionally oblique lyrics, it has often been very difficult to feel like he’s showing sides of himself. However, in a new interview, he opens up about how he struggled with the public’s expectations as he rose to fame as a member of the White Stripes.

“The judgment that’s thrown on you is just unbearable,” he tells MSN. “I went through that a few years ago … I just kind of sat in a corner, pondering, and letting it torture me. It’s no fun when you have no alternatives. That can really seriously make you wonder if you even want to be alive, because when you feel that feeling of you just can’t win … I don’t know.”

Eventually, White broke out of it through some introspective self-realization. “I started to think, ‘You know, I’ve never regretted any music I put out,’” he continues. “When I came to that realization, it was just like, ‘I’m fine. As long as I’m not unhappy with myself.’”

The full interview video runs a little more than 28 minutes, with this segment coming at roughly the 16:30 mark. White also discusses a variety of subjects, including his love of blues legend Son House.

Watch Jack White’s Interview With MSN

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