Will Young: I suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after hiding my sexuality
Singer Will Young has revealed how he was diagnosed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after years of hiding his sexuality.
Young, who shot to fame after winning ITV's Pop Idol in 2002, said "self-sabotage" and "overwhelming levels of anxiety" forced him to seek help in 2012.
The 36-year-old said he spent six months receiving treatment for an array of psychological disorders - including PTSD - at residential trauma centre Khiron House in Oxfordshire.
Young says his PTSD was a culmination of keeping his homosexuality a secret, being bullied at primary school and being separated from his twin brother at birth (Young was born six weeks early over health concerns).
PTSD is not just a consequence of a single traumatic event such as military combat, a road accident or sexual abuse - it can develop over time.
He said his self-doubt would affect him onstage, revealing that a voice in his head would be saying: “You are the most useless piece of s*** on this stage. You look fat. Your dancing is atrocious.”
“My brain had shut down due to overwhelming levels of anxiety,"
He told The Times (£): “My brain had shut down due to overwhelming levels of anxiety.
"I couldn’t even recognise my own face in a mirror. It was terrifying. It’s basically an extreme fight-or-flight response.”