Gwen Stefani: 'Songwriting is a gift'

Gwen Stefani's recent emotional turmoil has spurred her into writing songs.

The No Doubt frontwoman has been dealing with a lot of upheaval following her split from British rocker Gavin Rossdale last August (15), which put an end to their 13-year marriage.

The 41-year-old has since poured her emotions into new music for This Is What the Truth Feels Like, her first solo album in 10 years, and she claims she found much comfort in songwriting.

"Suddenly I became empowered. It was like a wake-up call. I was like: 'This is a gift'. I haven't been able to do it for a while but now here I am doing it again," she told Britain's Hello! magazine.

However, the Hollaback Girl singer asserts that she had been hoping to get back in touch with her creative side prior to her divorce.

"I felt like I was in this cocoon and ready to bust out. That was happening even before my life blew up in my face," she said. "Writing this album was so powerful. When I recorded it, it didn't matter that maybe nobody would hear it. I wrote enough for two albums because I blossomed. It has been an incredible journey for me."

The platinum blonde beauty also said that as a music artist she has experienced all kinds of emotions during her career in the past few years and has often felt frustrated.

"I think you go through different phases. With art especially, you can get blocked," she noted, adding, "And with everything that has gone down in my life in the past five years, I just got blocked."