More information has been released about Sinéad O’Connor’s cause of death.
The Irish music legend died in July at age 56.
Sinéad O'Connor's cause of death
Sinéad O’Connor died of natural causes, a spokesperson for the Southwark Coroners Court in London told NBC News in an email. “The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death.”
Dying of natural causes means there was no external reason for her death, such as an injury, according to an expert at Ohio State University. If a person dies of natural causes, something internal in the body caused it to shut down.
London’s Metropolitan Police told NBC News at the time that they had responded to “reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address” on July 26, and said O’Connor’s death was not being treated as suspicious.
Sinéad O'Connor's health
The “Nothing Compares 2 You” singer often spoke publicly about the mental health struggles she experienced throughout her life.
In January 2022, the singer was hospitalized following the death of her 17-year-old son, Shane.
O’Connor sought help after sharing messages to Twitter about planning to take her own life, CNN reported at the time.
In her 2021 memoir, “Rememberings,” the singer also opened up about experiencing physical abuse as a child.
“I won the prize in kindergarten for being able to curl up into the smallest ball, but my teacher never knew why I could do it so well,” she wrote in her book.
She also told TODAY’s Carson Daly in 2021 that she had post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, “from things that I went through growing up.”
The singer also spoke candidly in earlier years about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental health condition that can involve extreme mood swings and depressive episodes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In a 2007 interview with Oprah Winfrey, O’Connor said she had experienced thoughts of suicide before being diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years previously.
“It’s like being a bucket with holes in it. Just leaking tears from every pore,” she said.
O’Connor was also open about the psychological challenges she faced following a hysterectomy in 2015.
“You can never predict what might trigger the (PTSD),” she told People in 2021. “I describe myself as a rescue dog: I’m fine until you put me in a situation that even slightly smells like any of the trauma I went through, then I flip my lid.
“I manage very well because I’ve been taught brilliant skills,” she also said. “There was a lot of therapy. It’s about focusing on the things that bring you peace as opposed to what makes you feel unstable.”