Edwards suffered severe bouts of depression in his adult life, and was open about it in interviews. He also self-harmed, mainly through stubbing cigarettes on his arms and cutting himself: "When I cut myself I feel so much better. All the little things that might have been annoying me suddenly seem so trivial because I'm concentrating on the pain. I'm not a person who can scream and shout so this is my only outlet. It's all done very logically.". He suffered from insomnia and used alcohol to help him sleep at night. Before the release of "The Holy Bible" in 1994, he checked into Whitchurch Hospital and later The Priory, missing out on some of the promotional work for the album and forcing the band to appear as a three piece at the Reading Festival and T in the Park.