Lewis Capaldi has surprisingly disclosed some of his medication’s adverse effects, including the fact that he “couldn’t get a hard on.”
In the new Netflix documentary, How I’m Feeling Now, the Bruises hitmaker discusses the ups and downs of his work and existence.
Lewis gives a more personal glimpse into his life, with behind-the-scenes video of performances, interviews with his parents, and Lewis himself opening up about his mental health struggles.
Sometimes it gets a little too intimate…
After suffering from tics and twitches that he believed were caused by extreme worry, the 26-year-old revealed his Tourette’s diagnosis to the world in 2022.
Explaining his recovery from the mental health battles he faces, Lewis says in the documentary: ‘I got a therapist, just finding one was a f**king pain in the ring’.
He went on to talk about the difficulties he had in finding a therapist who could help him, joking about one of them assigning him assignments, which contributed to his nervousness.
He continued: ‘I’m on these f**king pills, Sertraline, they’re not doing anything, except I can’t get a f**king hard-on to save my life. Sorry! And they gave me the s**ts for six weeks, so that was great.’
‘I know what the steps are to get better, the onus is on me to do it, I can’t expect anybody else to click their fingers and it’s done, and I know that in myself I can do it,’ he adds.
According to the NHS, sertraline is an antidepressant that can help cure individuals with mental health conditions, such as panic attacks, which Lewis addresses further in the programme.
He says: ‘I feel like I’m in a race against the clock to get my mental health in order,’ continuing: ‘When I have a panic attack, it’s as if I’m going insane. Completely disconnected from reality.
‘I can’t breathe, like can’t feel my breath going in, it’s f**king, it’s wild. I get dizzy, and I feel like there’s something happening in my head, and I’m sweating. My whole body starts to do what my shoulder does, like pure convulsing.
‘And the big thing for me with it is that thing of, “I’m always going to feel like this now, this is me, I’m permode”, and yeah I’m just like, “Oh f**k this is it.”
‘Either I feel like I’m going to be stuck like that forever or I’m going to die.’
Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now airs on Netflix on April 5.
Need support for your mental health?
You can contact mental health charity Mind on 0300 123 3393 or text them on 86463.
Mind can also be reached by email at info@mind.org.uk.