LEWIS Capaldi has said there is a “very real possibility” he will give up his singing career if his Tourette's syndrome shows no signs of improvement.
The singer, 26, admitted making music can make his symptoms worse. He recently opened up about his health ahead of the release of his documentary How I'm Feeling Now, reported The Daily Mail.
Capaldi shared he was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome in September. He said he wanted to go public as he 'didn't want people to think he was taking cocaine'.
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological condition characterised by a combination of involuntary noises and movements called tics.
On how he manages the condition, Capaldi said that performing can make his symptoms worse.
He said that quitting is on the cards if he starts causing “irreparable damage” to himself.
He told The Times: “It's only making music that does this to me, otherwise I can be fine for months at a time, so it's a weird situation.
“Right now, the trade-off is worth it, but if it gets to a point where I'm doing irreparable damage to myself, I'll quit.
“I hate hyperbole but it is a very real possibility that I will have to pack music in.'
Capaldi also said his parents – nurse Carol, 56, and fishmonger Mark, 56 – also fear for his health.
The Grace hitmaker said Tourette's has made performing live more challenging as his tics are getting “quite bad” on stage. It is all the more heartbreaking as it's the part of his job he enjoys the most.
He also revealed he has been suffering from vertigo after having bronchitis and coming off anti-anxiety medication Sertraline.
Vertigo is a symptom, rather than a condition itself and is the sensation that you, or the environment around you, is moving or spinning.
Capaldi said that being famous is “easy” but it is the pressure of performing at huge venues on long tours that is “anxiety-inducing”.
In his upcoming Netflix documentary, the singer said that he began to suffer from unbearable back pain leaving him unable to even write new music.
In scenes from the programme, obtained by The Daily Star, Lewis confessed that he struggles to remember his 2020 tour because he was “so scared”, and he began to suffer from severe panic attacks.
He said: “The twitches became out of control it was awful, absolutely horrific. I started to get in my head about it, you know these pressures about things. Rather than just me singing my silly little songs other people are depending on me.
“My twitch gets worse when I sit down to play piano, physically painful. And I get really short of breath and it's like my back f*****g kills me when I go to do it.”
The Brit Award winner added: “It feels like I'm going insane. Completely disconnected from reality.
“I can't breathe. I get dizzy. I'm sweating, my whole body starts convulsing. Either I feel like I'm going to be stuck with it forever or I'm going to die.”
Capaldi later sought help from a therapist, who suggested his anxiety could stem from losing his grandmother and his aunt's suicide.
After undergoing further tests, Lewis said he was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. This offered him so much-needed relief and help him to reduce his anxiety levels and ease his symptoms.
Lewis is set to release his raw and honest feature-length music documentary, How I'm Feeling Now, on Netflix on April 5.
It sees him candidly discuss his mental health struggles, diagnosis with Tourette's and life in the spotlight.
On Instagram, he wrote: “The film is called 'How I'm Feeling Now' and it's named after a song I wrote, which will be released at midnight on the 17th of March.
“It's the last song I wrote for my upcoming album and is a tune that's all about something I've never really written about in my music before which is my mental health.” – The Vibes, April 2, 2023
