James Arthur was "convinced" he was "dying" while having his first panic attack.
The 31-year-old singer has been open about his struggle with anxiety in the past, and has now revealed that at times his attacks have been so severe he thought his life was ending, and confessed his battle with the mental illness has led him to make some "bad decision and bad choices" in his "life and career".
Speaking to promote ‘Where’s Your Head At?’ – Bauer Media’s campaign for those suffering with mental and physical health issues to be given equal treatment at work – he said: "From a young age I’ve suffered with anxiety – it can be really severe. When I first started having panic attacks, I thought I was dying.
"I was convinced that I was just dying and that led to me making some bad decisions and bad choices in my life and career".
The ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’ hitmaker went on to explain that his anxiety made him lose "his purpose" and forced him to do some "soul searching" to get himself back on track.
He added: "On top of the depression and the anxiety, I lost my purpose. Being in the public eye can definitely heighten anxiety because you put pressure on yourself to be what you think people want you to be at times.
"A lot of people want to get at you and knock you down if you’re in the public eye. When I was really, really low, I had to do some soul searching and figure out what was going with my mental health.
"I internalised a lot of my problems for a long time and I suffered in silence and was going nowhere in my life, until I plucked up the courage to just unload all of this stuff that I was feeling. I was really surprised to find how common it was and how many people had the same feelings as me."
James Arthur thought he was dying after his first panic attack
