Lewis Capaldi confesses to ‘convulsing’ backstage during worst panic attack as he admits ‘breakdown’ at Glastonbury 2023 was the ‘most important day of his life’

Lewis Capaldi has reflected on his lowest moments as he admitted how bad his panic attacks got prior to his ‘breakdown’ on stage at Glastonbury back in 2023. 

The Scottish hitmaker, 28, reduced fans to tears after he returned to Worthy Farm for a surprise set last month following a two-year hiatus to focus on his mental health and ‘adjust’ to his Tourette’s diagnosis. 

And now Lewis has revealed he saw his return to the festival as a ‘mental win’ as he candidly spoke about his struggles on the latest episode of This Past Weekend podcast with Theo Von. 

The singer confessed he had an episode far worse than his Glastonbury 2023 performance as he explained: ‘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.

‘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”.’

Lewis Capaldi has confessed to ‘convulsing’ backstage during his worst panic attack as he admitted his ‘breakdown’ at Glastonbury 2023 was the ‘most important day of his life’

The singer confessed he had an episode far worse than his Glastonbury 2023 performance as he explained: ‘A few weeks prior to that show we were playing in Chicago and I had a very similar episode – it was probably even worse’ (pictured at Glastonbury in 2023) 

He continued:  ‘In a weird way, it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wouldn’t have stopped otherwise.

‘I was really bad for not saying no to things. Feeling like “Oh this is going to pass me by if I don’t say yes. All this amazing stuff’s coming at me now and I have to catch it all and get it all done, otherwise these moments are going to pass me by and it’s never going to happen again”.

‘So, Glastonbury 2023 was, for sure, really important – maybe the most important day in my life. 

‘Someone upstairs was like “this has to happen now otherwise…” I don’t want to think of where I would be now if I’d continued. 

‘We were meant to go to Australia. It could have been really, really horrible. I dread to think what would have happened.’

Prior to his Glastonbury return last month Lewis also released brand new track Survive, which details his difficult two years – and it’s been a huge hit with millions of fans across the country as it topped the charts.

Speaking about his return to the festival Lewis added:  ‘I really wanted to come back and do Glastonbury as like a mental win – finish the thing that I couldn’t finish before.’

During his two year hiatus Lewis has undergone a lot of therapy and worked on coming to terms and dealing with his Tourette’s. 

He continued: ‘In a weird way, it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wouldn’t have stopped otherwise’

Speaking about his return to the festival (pictured) Lewis added: ‘I really wanted to come back and do Glastonbury as like a mental win – finish the thing that I couldn’t finish before’

He has also reduced his alcohol intake, prioritised his fitness and swapped antidepressants for anti-psychotic meds that finally worked.

He continued: ‘I do therapy every week which has been really beneficial for me. That’s really maybe the biggest thing that’s switched everything around.’

‘This is what’s great about my current therapist. He can sense when I’m being avoidant. He pulls me back in and is saying “there’s a reason you’re being wishy washy here'”‘.

The star also revealed he has come off anti-depressants and switched to antipsychotic medication. 

‘It was really scary when they offered it. Antipsychotic? I’m like ‘I’m not psychotic’. It’s changed my life. Anxiety levels are so low these days. I don’t feel the stress.’

And Lewis is back with a bang with his comeback tour selling out in seconds earlier this month. 

The star is set to perform 17 dates across the UK and Ireland in September as he returns to the stage two years after taking a break for his mental health.

His dedicated fans had every single ticket in their baskets by one second past 9am, Lewis revealed, so the star added extra dates – but even those shows sold out in record time, with the tour being his ‘fastest selling ever’.