NEED TO KNOW
- Lewis Capaldi credits therapy to helping him “be a musician again” amid struggles with anxiety and after being diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome
- Capaldi has accepted that anxiety can be a constant and is working on how he responds to it
- Weeks earlier, he performed at Glastonbury, marking his first gig in two years and an emotional return to the stage
Lewis Capaldi is opening up about the power of therapy.
The Scottish musician spoke about his mental health and return to music in a video with BetterHelp shared on Monday, July 7. Capaldi, 28, revealed in September 2022 that he had been diagnosed with Tourette’s syndrome. He has also been candid about his struggles with anxiety.
“Therapy has been such a massive part of my last two years, a massive part of the reason I’ve been able to be a musician again. I feel like if I can be a part of sharing that with other people, why not?”
When reflecting on what he’s accepted through therapy, Capaldi said he thinks he will “always be an anxious person.” “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.”
“For me it’s accepting that I’m always going to have this stuff there,” the “Someone You Loved” singer said, adding that it’s all about finding a balance between the peaks and troughs.
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“can’t over emphasise how important therapy has been over the last few years in getting me back to a place where I feel ready and able to get on stage again,” Capaldi captioned the clip.
“So it’s an absolute honour to team up with @betterhelp to be giving away 734,000 hours of free therapy for all of you ❤️ x #BetterHelpPartner.”
The 734,000 hours represent a thousand hours for every day since Capaldi had last played on stage, leading up to his set at Glastonbury 2025.
He stepped away from performing following his 2023 Glastonbury gig, taking a break to focus on his mental health “for the foreseeable future.”
“I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped 3 weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come,” he said on Instagram in June 2023.
Capaldi called making the call to go on hiatus “the most difficult decision of my life.”
Months later, he gave fans a positive update. “I’ve been working with some incredible professionals to help me learn about and cope better with Tourette’s and anxiety issues. I’m really happy to say I’ve noticed a marked improvement in both since,” he told fans on X in December 2023.
Capaldi surprised fans, appearing at Glastonbury two years after he was unable to finish his set at the English music festival. “Glastonbury it’s so good to be back,” Capaldi told the audience during his emotional performance on June 27. “I’m not going to say much up here today because if I did I might start crying.”
“It’s just amazing to be here with you all and I can’t thank you all enough for coming out and coming and seeing me. Second time’s a charm on this one, everybody,” added Capaldi.
“I just wanted to come and finish what I couldn’t finish the first time round on this stage. I want to thank everybody at Glastonbury for giving me the chance to do so.”
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Up next for Capaldi are tour dates in the UK starting in September. “about time I got back to work… hope to see you out there,” he wrote on Instagram, announcing the upcoming shows.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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