George Ezra has revealed that he was ‘in bits’ before a Brit Awards after finishing a therapy course on the same day for the obsessive-compulsive disorder ‘Pure O’.
The Budapest hitmaker, 27, described his struggled with the ‘purely obsessional’ form of OCD in which he told how he was ‘vacant to the world’ around him.
The singer, who rose to fame in 2014, would make himself think of ‘the worst thing’ to say in a given situation before punishing himself for being a ‘horrible person’.
Honest: George Ezra has revealed that he was ‘in bits’ before a Brit Awards after finishing a therapy course on the same day for the obsessive-compulsive disorder ‘Pure O’
Speaking on the BBC podcast How Do You Cope?, George said: ‘I found an intensive course specialising in OCD.
‘It finished the day of The Brits and I was in bits because it was CBT and that essentially what you are doing, or what I experienced, is I was being exposed to things I worry about the most.
‘Then you’re getting up on stage to say how lovely a world it is and thank you for considering me tonight.’
George, who won the awards for the British Male Solo Artist in 2019, added: ‘I’m always amazed at what you can get through’.
Open: The singer, who rose to fame in 2014, would make himself think of ‘the worst thing’ to say in a given situation before punishing himself for being a ‘horrible person’
OCD is a mental health condition where people experience frequent obsessive thoughts or compulsive disorders.
Behaviour can include repetitive rituals such as checking a door handle X amount of times or internal counting.
Speaking about his diagnosis, George said: ‘It’s got a name – it’s called ‘Pure O’ which is kind of OCD.
‘I don’t know how helpful it is to have a name for something but it helped me when I heard about it and instantly there was not a doubt in my mind.
‘I said: “That’s it – that is what is going on”‘.
The term ‘Pure O’ is not a medically listed term, according to OCD UK, and notes that sufferers will have ‘compulsions’ that may manifest as ‘unseen mental rituals’.
The singer-songwriter, who is known for his hit Shotgun, added: ‘We all know OCD. You know some people will say they like things in a certain way.
‘We also hear about extreme cases where people have to flick a light switch X amount of times before they can leave the house.
New chapter? George split from his girlfriend, British singer Florrie, real name Florence Arnold, in April following a three-year romance
‘My understanding is what that is is a physical reaction to intrusive thought patterns, about whatever it might be. ‘
‘Pure O is when you have the thought patterns and intrusive thoughts without any of the physical actions to relieve them’.
George, who spoke of how he knew his diagnosis had to get ‘worse before it got better’, told how he would repeatedly ‘test’ himself when confronted with a situation.
He said: ‘It feels like you are testing yourself. It feels like you go, “God in this situation the worst thing you could think is…” And then you have that thought.
A success story: Florrie has worked with Mollie King and Girls Aloud
‘And then you think, “George don’t have that thought again”, and so you do. And then you think if you are somebody that can have that thought does that mean you are this person? And if so, you’re f****** horrible mate.’
The star also spoke about his journey with transcendental meditation which involves the use of a mantra and is practiced for 20 minutes daily with eyes closed.
He said: ‘This is what I have got from it. I spend my life either worrying about things I have done or have said or things that happen in the past or I spend my life worrying about things which could potentially happen.
‘None of which I am able to do anything about.’
It comes after George split from his girlfriend, British singer Florrie, real name Florence Arnold, in April following a three-year romance.
A source told The Sun: ‘They split up a few months ago but it was amicable and they remain on good terms.
‘It’s not been an easy time, especially with everything else going on in the world.’