West Lothian star Lewis Capaldi has shared that he may be forced to give his career up if his mental health worsens.
The star, who hails from Whitburn, West Lothian, released his second album on Friday, titled Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent - reports the Daily Record.
He has admitted that "a few panic attacks" as well as his Tourette's diagnosis was worth it to become the superstar he had always dreamed of.
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The 26-year-old told Rebecca Judd on her Apple Music show that his mental health problems were a "direct symptom" of his career.
He said: "I think on this album in particular I talk a bit more about my mental health, which has taken a beating over the last little while."
Lewis continued: "I’m managing it better now but I think in 2020 I was kind of glad when we got put in lockdown because I had done my first arena tour in the UK, and we had just done an Australia and Asia tour before that, and I was in a bad way where I was just having panic attacks every single day on stage and I was just shy.
“I still haven’t quite got there, but it’s interesting that this thing that you love to do and you’ve always wanted to do becomes something that causes you such distress, but such is the modern world.”
The singer has said his global success is currently worth the impact on his mental wellbeing, but has not ruled out ending his career early if things got worse.
He said: “If I did another album and my head was scrambled and I felt horrible, right now I’m at a point where I can balance my mental health and how I feel in general.
"Not even just mental health, but the trade-off is worth it.
“I’ll take a few panic attacks and my Tourette's and stuff for what’s happening, but if it gets to the point where things get worse mentally and I stop kind of looking after myself in that regard, I think that would be a point where I’d be like, ‘I’m just not going to do this anymore’.”
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Lewis added: "The main reason I got into music was to play live and if I’m struggling to do that ever, I think that’s where I’m in trouble, because otherwise that’s the payoff, that’s the point of doing it.
"At that point, if it felt like it was becoming something that I was not into or was causing me stress or I hated [it], then that’s when I would probably pack it in."
The star, who is close friends with fellow singer Ed Sheeran, shared some advice he received from his chart-topping mate.
The duo co-wrote Lewis' hit single Pointless, released in December 2022, and he shared the Drunk singer's top hints on how to deal with fame.
Lewis said: "(His advice) was more about songs and writing the best songs you can and everything else is not really important.
"He was very supportive in terms of if I had questions about having an upbeat song or having a slow song or what single to put out, or blah, blah, blah, blah, he was there as a sort of sounding board.
"He never really told me what to do, which I kind of appreciated as well, but he was a good suggestion box."
He also joked: "I think in hand-to-hand combat, I could whip his ass. But in terms of on the charts, he’s definitely top."
Listen to Lewis' brand new album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, on all streaming platforms now.
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