Simon Cowell has bravely spoken about how therapy is helping him overcome anxieties and depression which he noticed he was suffering from especially during the covid pandemic.
Talking exclusively to The Mirror newspaper, Simon opened up on his fears and how he found calm again with therapy sessions. "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
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Simon, Lauren and Eric spent lockdown at his house in Malibu..
”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.”
Adding to his worry when lockdown ended he wasn't sure if he should go ahead filming Britain;s Got Talent explaining “I felt a lot of responsibility at that point...I just didn’t know what was the correct thing to do other than don’t chance it, don’t risk it,”
After speaking to friends who had gone through therapy he decided to try it, saying:. "You realise you’re talking to a professional and they don’t judge you, they listen to you.”.
Simon was also anxious about the ratings of his shows, his therapist asked him ‘Do you consider your best work to be the highest-rated thing you’ve ever done?” And I said, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘So why are you judging yourself on that?’”
Simon sent an email to his team saying he no longer wanted to know about the ratings.
“And it’s quite incredible because it now doesn’t feel like you’re chasing something. You’re just making something you like in the hope that other people like it as well. If they don’t, they don’t.”
“When I see my friends, the first thing I talk about is how therapy has had this super positive effect on my life,” he says. “I wish I had done this 10 or 20 years ago...it’s like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.”
Listen to the full interview with Tom Bryant talking to Simon Cowell on the Men in Mind podcast
