Lewis Capaldi admits anxiety sparked by fame can lead to spending up to seven hours on the phone to his mum
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Lewis Capaldi has admitted that he can spend up to seven hours on the phone to his mum, Carol, as she tries to calm him down from panic attacks.
The singer, 26, from Glasgow, has revealed that the intense pressure he has experienced since he became famous has taken a toll on his mental health.
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Hide AdHe has been dealing with panic attacks, a shoulder twitch and has been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome.
Despite his immeasurable success, Lewis admits to lacking confidence in his abilities as an artist and compares everything he creates to hit song ‘Someone You Love.’
"I’m not confident in my abilities as a songwriter, and I think that’s got worse the more successful I’ve got," he said, according to BBC.
Lewis’s anxiety and lack of confidence in himself manifests into a shoulder twitch.
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Hide Ad"The twitch that I have gets worse when I sit down to play the piano. Physically painful," he said. "And I get really short of breath and it’s like my back kills me when I go to do it. Which is quite ... frightful."
But this twitch is not the only health issue Lewis has experienced.
Lewis admitted that he can spend up to seven hours on the phone to his mum, Carol, as she tries to calm him down from the panic attacks that make him feel like “he’s going insane.” He reflected on being “an anxious person” before his rise to fame, and this anxiety was seemingly amplified by having “his world turned upside down.”
"I’m completely disconnected from reality," he said. "I can’t breathe, I can’t feel breath going in. I get dizzy, I feel like something’s happening in my head and I’m sweating.
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Hide Ad"My whole body starts to do what my shoulder does and I’m convulsing. Either I feel like I’m going to be stuck like that forever or I’m going to die."
To add to the mix of health problems, Lewis was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a condition that causes people to make involuntary sounds or movements called tics.
In a new documentary, Lewis explores his physical and mental health battles, as he tries to replicate the success of his first album in his second and gives fans a realistic look into the cost of fame in the modern world.
"Making the first album was as close to dreams coming true as you could possibly get," he told the makers of his new Netflix documentary.
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Hide Ad"But as soon as the first album does well, it’s like can he do it again though?"
In 2019, Lewis Capaldi’s first album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, sold more than any other in the UK, and this success continued into 2020.
Then, Covid hit and Lewis went into lockdown, preparing to write a second album with an intense pressure on his shoulders. With his debut album being so successful, expectations were high, and this pressure took a toll on Lewis physically and emotionally.
Recently, Lewis’ number 1 hit ‘Someone You Loved’ became the UK’s most streamed song of all time and he sold out his UK tour in a matter of seconds.
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Hide AdSince making the documentary, Lewis has revealed he may have to quit music if his condition continues to worsen, as making music seems to be the root cause of his tics.
Speaking to The Times, he said: "It’s only making music that does this to me, otherwise I can be fine for months at a time, so it’s a weird situation.
"Right now, the trade-off is worth it, but if it gets to a point where I’m doing irreparable damage to myself, I’ll quit,” Lewis added.
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now is on Netflix from Wednesday 5 April, and his highly anticipated second album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent is out May 19th on EMI Records.
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