X Factor judge Simon Cowell has revealed his secret battle with mental health which peaked its highest in the Coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, Simon has spoken up about the troubles he has faced and even revealed that he went to therapy which had a “super positive effect” on his life.
In the first episode of the Mirror‘s Men in Mind podcast, the music industry mogul said: “I’ve suffered from depression over the years, but that was just something I just thought, ‘well, that’s my character trait. I get down,’ and it’s something you deal with.”
“And then I suppose Covid was the real catalyst,” he added.
Simon Cowell on mental health struggles
Through the pandemic, Simon was living with his fiancée and his son Eric in their luxurious Los Angeles mansion, when he began to feel paranoid about catching coronavirus. He said that he had tested himself “more than 1000 times”.
I’ve suffered from depression over the years.
“In the very, very, very early stages, some friends of mine got really ill and I’m talking about really ill,” said Simon. “So, I thought, ‘God, if I catch this, maybe the same thing’s going to happen to me, Eric and Lauren. I didn’t know what was true or not [on the news], I just didn’t have a clue other than I was petrified about catching it. Just petrified.”
Focusing on his mental health was the game-changer
The record exec went on and said he then tried to focus on his mental health by going to the gym solely for his brain.
According to The Sun, Simon also had a complete lifestyle change, switching to a vegan diet, which made him lose an incredible amount of weight.
He ‘banned’ his staff from telling him his TV ratings
Soon after, Simon’s therapist pointed out that he was judging himself based on his TV ratings.
He then politely asked his staff to no longer tell him about how many millions of people had watched his shows.
“We’re not all made of steel and there’s going to be times in our lives where you just need somebody to talk to,” he concluded.
Read more: Simon Cowell baffles fans with latest Insta upload: ‘What on earth has happened to your face?’
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