Lewis Capaldi reveals Tourette's syndrome diagnosis

7 September 2022, 14:32 | Updated: 7 September 2022, 15:29

Lewis Capaldi Performs At The O2 Arena — Lewis Capaldi has opened up about his Tourette's syndrome . Picture: Gus Stewart/Redferns

By Jenny Mensah

The singer-songwriter revealed to his fans recently that he has been living with the condition and receiving botox treatment to alleviate his symptoms.

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Lewis Capaldi has revealed that he has Tourette's Syndrome.

The Scottish singer-songwriter talked about finding out he had the neurological condition, which is usually characterised by involuntary sounds or movements called tics.

Speaking on an Instagram Live, the Hold Me While You Wait singer told his fans about his diagnosis and said that it "makes so much sense".

"I have Tourette's," he revealed. "I've always had it, apparently. I do a shoulder twitch quite a lot. It's a new thing."

“I wanted to speak about it because I didn’t want people to think I was taking cocaine or something,” he said.

The 25-year-old added: "I haven't really learned much about it. I'm learning. I've got botox on my shoulders to stop it moving."

"The worst thing about it is when I'm excited, I get it," he explained. "When I'm stressed, I get it. Some days it's more painful than others. It's not a big a deal. It looks a lot worse than it is.

"When they told me 'we think you've got Tourette's', I was like 'you know what, that makes so much sense'. When I look back at my interviews from 2018, I can see that I’m doing it.”

Capaldi isn't the only artist to speak out about living with the condition.

Billie Eilish has been open about Tourette's Syndrome and spoke to David Letterman about her tick earlier this year.

Speaking on his famous Netflix series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, she said: "The most common way people react is they laugh, because they think I'm trying to be funny."

She added: "So many people have it that you would never know. A couple of artists came forward and said I've actually always had Tourette's and I'm not going to out them because they don't want to talk about it.

Watch a clip of their discussion below.

Billie Eilish Opens Up About Her Tourettes Syndrome | My Next Guest Needs No Introduction | Netflix

The NHS website defines Tourette's syndrome, which affects over 300.000 people in the UK, as "a condition that causes a person to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics."

The condition usually starts during childhood, but the tics and other symptoms usually improve after several years and sometimes go away completely.

The NHS adds that while there's no cure for Tourette's syndrome, treatment can hep to manage symptoms.

Examples of physical tics include blinking, eye rolling, grimacing, shoulder shrugging, jerking of the head or limbs, jumping or twirling or touching objects and other people.

Meanwhile examples of vocal tics include grunted, throat clearing, whistling, coughing, tongue clicking, animal sounds, saying random words, repeating random sounds, words or phrases or swearing.