When I have a panic attack it feels like I'm going insane
Daily Record|March 31, 2023
Pressure of his new album pushes him to breaking point. Singer-songwriter opens up about pain of losing his aunt
RICK FULTON
When I have a panic attack it feels like I'm going insane

LEWIS Capaldi has revealed how the pressure of global stardom left him struggling to cope.

The West Lothian musician, 26, tells how the stress of writing his second album caused his Tourette's to get so bad he stopped recording music and halted filming of a new documentary.

Netflix show How I'm Feeling Now films Lewis across four years - from performing in Glasgow's pubs and clubs to a man often struggling with the pressure of worldwide fame.

His parents Mark and Carol also tell of their fears for Lewis after watching him change from a carefree teenager into a stressed superstar as he tries to write and record Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, his new album.

Scenes from the show also reveal: That his aunt's suicide and gran's death scarred him mentally.

How the strain of writing songs is painful and makes him hate himself.

The truth behind the halting of a gig at Wembley when his dad stepped in to stop the show.

About his darkest moments, Lewis says: "When I have a panic attack it feels like I'm going insane, completely disconnected from reality.

"I can't breathe. I can't feel my breath going in. I get dizzy. I feel like there's something happening to my head.

"I'm sweating. My whole body starts to do what my shoulder does. Like pure convulsing.

"The big thing for me with it is, I'm always going to feel like this now, this is me. F***. This is it. Either I feel like I'm going to be stuck like that forever or I'm going to die."

Dad Mark reveals Carol sometimes spends seven hours on the phone trying to calm Lewis down and knows if the phone rings in the night it's their fourth and youngest child in distress.

The documentary starts with cameras following the singer as he tries to write songs for his second album during the Covid pandemic.

This story is from the March 31, 2023 edition of Daily Record.

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This story is from the March 31, 2023 edition of Daily Record.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.