Lewis Capaldi has credited therapy with playing a "massive role" in his return to music following a two year hiatus.
This comes after Capaldi made an emotional return to the Glastonbury stage last weekend, where he treated fans to his new single Survive, as well as Someone You Loved. More on this here.
Capaldi returned to the Worthy Farm event for the first time since 2023, when he encountered difficulties with his singing while on stage, having previously been diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.
The singer spoke about this during a chat with one of his best friends to mark his new partnership with BetterHelp online therapy platform in the UK.
Speaking about this and his 2023 Glastonbury, Capaldi said it was "literally the worst moment" of his life.
He continued: "It was a big, big, big old gig.
"Second song in, I was probably just like, 'This has to like... I can't keep doing this to myself and other people as well'.
"People were coming to gigs, and I was like, 'That's not how you want to watch a show'.
"As far as I was concerned, I was like, 'I'm done indefinitely".
Elsewhere, Capaldi added that he "wasn't living in the moment at all" and was "catastrophising".
He said: "Therapy has been such a massive part of my last two years, a massive part of the reason that I'm able to be a musician again".
"In partnership with BetterHelp and sort of to reflect my experience of therapy and the importance I feel it has in my life and other people's lives, we're giving away 734,000 free hours of therapy".
He explained: "The importance of that number is that it's 1,000 hours for every single day that I have, well, since I last played on stage. And I feel like, if I can be a part of sharing that with other people, why not?".
In this interview, Capaldi was also asked if had reached a point where he felt better, with the singer admitting that he had been "lying" to a therapist and "telling them what I thought they wanted to hear".
"I really struggle with it, it's not fun", he continued. "I don't have a fun time there".
"I feel amazing after, it's like going to the gym, I think, which obviously I'm well versed in".
"Sometimes it can be really difficult, but I think I do it because I realise how important it is for me to continue to feel good, because I've felt the best I felt in a long time through therapy. I would say that has been the cornerstone of, like, why I feel how good I feel now.
"I think that's a big thing that I've noticed or found, is that different therapists work for different people.
"So I think it's all about giving the time to therapy as well, also not expecting that quick fix. And I'm someone who likes instant gratification and sort of the quickest thing and all the rest of it, so I think coming to terms with that was a big thing."
"I think I'll always be an anxious person," he added. "I think accepting that that's always going to be there for me is a big thing.
"It's about how I respond to anxiety and how I respond to a lot of stuff in my life.
"It's how I... I don't like this phrase, but 'Show up for myself'.
"I have neglected to look after myself in the past, both mentally and physically, and I have made promises to myself that I haven't kept".
"I think for me, it's accepting that I'm always going to have this stuff there. It's about how I sort of respond, what steps I take to sort of remain at, like, base level".
Asked about his pre Glastonbury preparations, Lewis Capaldi explained that he had preformed a run of small gigs across Scotland.
One such show included a performance in Edinburgh, Capaldi said he felt "rush of adrenaline" before managing to calm himself.
"Before I did the last song, I was just explaining to everybody who was there how grateful I was that they had shown up and come along. And I think I didn't realise how much I actually missed being on stage and then I just started to cry," he said.
This also comes after Lewis Capalid also secured this week's Official Number One single with new single, 'Survive'. More on this here.
