I ballooned to 20st after mental breakdown at Glastonbury & I'm now on anti-psychotic medication, reveals Lewis Capaldi

Scottish Sun

16-07-2025

After making a triumphant come back to the Glastonbury stage, the Scottish Singer lifts the lid on his journey to recovery
LEW'S HEALTH BATTLE I ballooned to 20st after mental breakdown at Glastonbury & I'm now on anti-psychotic medication, reveals Lewis Capaldi
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LEWIS Capaldi has revealed how he ballooned to 20 stone after his Glastonbury breakdown - but is battling back to health thanks to his fitness trainer brother and anti-psychotic pills.
The Someone You Loved singer, 28, delighted fans at he returned to the festival's Pyramid Stage last month to play a surprise set, following a two-year break to focus on his mental health, Tourette's diagnosis and crippling anxiety.
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Lewis spoke candidly about rebuilding himself since his 2023 Glastonbury performance
Credit: Theo Von podcast
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He's undergone extensive therapy, learned to better manage his Tourette's, reduced his alcohol intake, improved his physical health, and switched his medication
Credit: Theo Von podcast
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Lewis struggling through his 2023 Glasto set, which prompted him to take a prolonged hiatus from music
Credit: Alamy
Reflecting on that difficult period, Lewis revealed the extent of his panic attacks in the lead-up to the 2023 festival - admitting experiencing his worst episode during a gig in America just weeks before he took to the Glastonbury stage.
Speaking candidly on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Bathgate-born Lewis said: "A few weeks prior to that show we were playing in Chicago and I had a very similar episode - it was probably even worse."
"I couldn't come back and finish a song. I was backstage convulsing and having this crazy panic attack and mental episode. Way worse than what happened at Glastonbury."
But the performance, though painful, was a public wake-up call that led Lewis to finally seek the help he needed, with Lewis adding: "Because Glastonbury is such a big stage, it was the first time people outside my shows had seen it.
"At Glastonbury, when I came off stage it was weird, I had this (feeling) 'everything's alright now, I can actually go and get help and fix myself for the next two years.'"
"In a weird way, it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. I wouldn't have stopped otherwise.
"Glastonbury 2023 was, for sure, really important - maybe the most important day in my life."
Opening up on his mental and physical journey on his return to the global stage, the Bathgate-born hitmaker has made some serious lifestyle changes.
The Buckfast lover - who admitted to being 'all or nothing' when it came to boozing - revealed he's cut his intake right back, as well as following a healthier diet.
He also thanked his 'no nonsense' therapist and even lifted the lid on his daily medication.
But a huge trigger in his deterioration was down to the way he coped with being famous.
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He said: 'Being famous, I find, is the most embarrassing thing of all time. I walk into every room and you're either not famous enough or too famous to be in a room.
'I feel like everyone thinks that I think I'm awesome or they think who does he think he is - I feel so cringed up all the time when it comes to that side of things.
'I assume everyone in this room doesn't like me because they seen something I said online once or they think I try too hard to be silly or funny or think my music is s**t.
'Even taking about being famous or referring to yourself as famous is embarrassing -it goes back to external validation.'
And although this unhealthy quest, he admitted, is still there - he's doing his utmost to tackle it.
'I'm already looking through comments and getting excited when I see a nice comment and really down when I see an awful one.
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Lewis delighted the crowds at this year's Glasto - by making a surprise appearance and nailing his performance
Credit: Cover Images
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An-all-round healthier and healthier Lewis
Credit: Theo Von podcast
'I'm trying to stop myself. 'This is the stuff that got you where you were last time'', he said.
Therapy has been a lifeline for the star, who is a client of London-based psychotherapist and Sunday Times bestseller Owen O'Kane.
He said: 'I do therapy every week which has been beneficial for me and has been the biggest thing that switched everything around.
'When I came off stage at Glastonbury, a therapist was the first thing I needed.
'My current therapist can sense when I'm being avoidant - he pulls me back in and says there's a reason I'm being wishy washy here.
'I cancelled two sessions back to back and he was on it saying, 'we don't have to do this, but it feels like you're not engaging in a way that's beneficial for you, you're wasting my time'.
'I really responded to him not letting me away with s**te.'
Lewis also took a look at his relationship with alcohol, which he previously had to cut out completely while on tour prior to 2023 because he liked 'going out and having a good time.'
He said: 'I definitely drank too much initially. There's always an excuse to go have a drink and I'm a bit all or nothing with it.
'I'm not an alcoholic but when I'm going out, I'm going out.'
And he's even been hitting the gym - even though he hates it - and is already noticing big changes.
He added: 'I'm trying not to eat as much s***e. I've lost two stone since the start of the year and I want to lose more - I was 20 stone at the start of the year.
'My brother is training me. He's a qualified PT now so he's been helping. I hate exercising - people can probably tell by looking at me but I hate it.'
Lewis also claimed that swapping antidepressants for the anti-psychotic medication Aripiprazole, has 'changed his life.'
He added 'It was really scary when they said anti psychotic - I was like I'm not psychotic. My anxiety levels are so low these days.'
Following his return to the Pyramid Stage - which saw him perform new track Survive - Lewis confirmed he is hitting the road on a brand new tour in September.
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