Simon Cowell, the famous talent show judge who has worked on shows like American Idol, The X Factor, and Britain’s Got Talent, has revealed his mental health struggles during the Covid pandemic and how therapy helped him cope.
In a new podcast called The Diary of a CEO, hosted by Steven Bartlett, Cowell opened up about his long-term depression and anxiety, which he said he had never addressed before. He said he had always been very nervous, anxious, and uptight, and did not enjoy things as much as he should have.
“If you’d said to me, ‘Simon, we’re going to be sitting down.. In your garden, talking about mental health,’ I’d be going, ‘Have I lost my mind or something’,” he says. “I’m not a doctor, I’m not an expert, but in my own way, I’ve started to understand it more and done things myself for my mental health in a positive way.
“Now I am happy to talk about it to encourage others too.” To understand why Simon reached out to a therapist, you need only rewind the clock back a few years to the beginning of the Covid pandemic. “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.
The Covid pandemic worsened his condition, as he was afraid of catching the virus and passing it to his family. He also had a serious accident in August 2020 while riding an E-bike at his Malibu home, which broke his back and required a six-hour surgery to fix his spine.
“I was terrified about catching Covid because I thought if I did catch it I’d be on a ventilator. And then you think of your son and your family and everything else,” he said.
He decided to start therapy after hearing from his friends who had benefited from it. He said therapy felt like a weight being lifted off his shoulders, and he wished he had done it sooner.
He also encouraged other men to talk about their feelings and seek help if needed, saying that therapy is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.
“And then I suppose COVID was the real catalyst.” Like many people during this time, his mental health deteriorated, and he describes being in a constant state of anxiety. “In the very, very, very early stages, some friends of mine got really ill and I’m talking about really ill,” he says.
”So, I thought, ‘God, if I catch this, maybe the same thing’s going to happen to me, Eric and Lauren.” Watching the news only made things worse, and he consulted endless doctors to try and work out how best to protect his family. “I didn’t know what was true or not, I just didn’t have a clue other than I was petrified about catching it. Just petrified.”
Cowell’s candid interview has been praised by fans and celebrities alike, who commended him for his honesty and bravery. Many also expressed their support and admiration for him, saying that he is an inspiration and a role model for others who are struggling with mental health issues.
Relevant articles:
- Simon Cowell reveals mental health struggles during Covid which led him to therapy, The Mirror, 8/30/2023
- Simon Cowell opens up about impact of therapy after depression struggles: ‘It’s like a weight has lifted’, Yahoo, 8/31/2023
- Simon Cowell Says ‘A Weight Has Lifted’ After Opening up About his Journey with Depression and Therapy, People, 8/30/2023
- Why Simon Cowell tried therapy after years of depression, Page Six, 8/31/2023