Restricting himself to just a few people in his life, global superstar Ed Sheeran spoke about his battle with social anxiety.
According to Fox News, the 28-year-old 'Shape of You' singer admitted that: "I get anxiety every day."
Adding, he said: "It creeps up on you. I've been working on it for eight years and I closed off from reality. Whether it's getting rid of your phone or only looking at emails twice a day. Or cutting down my friendship group to the bare minimum just so I can trust everyone. I let people in from a, 'Let's hang out place'. There is letting in and then there is letting in."
The singer who has sold 150 million albums said that his crippling condition was sparked by the pressures from his worldwide fame.
The singer spoke of his mental health battle in an interview where he narrated his frustration at people talking to him with the sole intention of having a photograph.
In the interview, the singer also admitted fame which has left him feeling disconnected and revealed that he avoids going out.
Ed opened up to explain: "I have social anxiety. I don't like large groups of people, which is ironic given I play shows to thousands of people. I feel claustrophobic and I don't like being around many people. I have no problem with talking to people. But it's when people film me and stare at me. It makes me feel weird."
"It makes me feel like I'm not human. If you want to come up to me and have a conversation with me. Even if we've never met, just come up. But what instantly cuts me off is that you're having a moment with them which is so genuine and so nice and then at the end, they ask for a picture."
The singer has never been so vocal about his personal life and how he felt to get so much attention from the fans. He said that he surged to fame after the release of his 2017 single 'Shape Of You' from his album Divide. Before the song, he was able to stay away from the spotlight.
Speaking about the transformation, he said: "I used to live in New York and I went out every night but releasing Shape Of You took me to a new level of fame. I was meeting people every day from movies and music. I was getting sucked up into it. I felt myself getting drained. If I lived in central London and hung out with people, I wasn't sure if they were friends with me because of me, or who I am. That's why I moved here."
( With inputs from ANI )