Lewis Capaldi says he had to sleep in same bed as his mum to help ease panic attacks

Lewis Capaldi has opened up about his struggles with anxiety and revealed that, when he has his worst panic attacks, he needs his mum to sleep in his bed with him.

The 'Someone You Loved' singer has suffered from mental health difficulties, like anxiety and hypochondria, since shooting to stardom.

He shared that, at one point things got so bad that he booked a private MRI scan after convincing himself he had a brain tumour.

Speaking on Steven Bartlett's The Diary of a CEO podcast, Lewis, 25, got candid about his mental health difficulties and the progress he has made with therapy, and the help of his mum.

Since Lewis' mum Carol is a nurse, she is often the only person he turns to for help.

He joked: "If I phone her and I say, 'Mum, I've got a headache, I'm dizzy, I think I've got a brain tumour or something,' she'll be like, 'Shut the f**k up, you're fine. Take some paracetamol and go to bed.'

"If I'm having a panic attack, there's nobody else can talk me out of it like my mum.

"My mum has had to sleep in my bed as recently as a month ago because of how bad my anxiety got, at one point."

The Brit Award winner admitted that his anxiety and hypochondria often gets to a point where he 'can't imagine it not being something life-threatening.'

Offering an example, Lewis said it was once so bad that he convinced he had a brain tumour and cancelled a concert.

"I thought I had a brain tumour and I was worrying about it so much and getting so anxious that I was dizzy, that would then feed back into the 'oh I'm dizzy so I must have a brain tumour. Why else would I be dizzy?'

"It even got so bad a couple of years ago that I went and paid for a MRI scan, I was meant to play Austin City Limits music festival in Austin and I just had to cancel the trip.

"It got so bad that I was like ‘I cannot get on a plane and go to Austin'. So I went and got the MRI and obviously I was fine. It was all in my head."

Lewis said that he suspects his mental health difficulties stemmed from his childhood, but peaked when he hit the big-time.

"I have really bad anxiety. It never really reached a tipping point until after getting famous, I never had a panic attack until after I was famous, or after I was a musician or after I got to a height", he said.

Listeners were touched after hearing Lewis speak so openly about his mental health, and took to social media to commend him for his courage.

Huge, massive well done to Lewis Capaldi on speaking openly and confidently about his mental health, inspiring other men and letting them know it’s ok to talk. Especially in a time where the male suicide rate is so high. @LewisCapaldi #lewiscapaldi #mentalhealth @SteveBartlettSC

— Mila (@Mila2003baby) September 15, 2022

Watching the @LewisCapaldi interview. As a sufferer of anxiety myself. I cannot imagine what he’s overcome to perform in front of thousands, his imposter syndrome etc, what a truly real and humble guy. Absolute respect 🫡 pic.twitter.com/3Jcd0Bjq6V

— Fiona Taylor 🇬🇧 (@fionataylor0305) September 15, 2022