Avicii revealed fears he’d take his own life while drunk years before his tragic death
AVICII feared he’d take his own life while drunk as a teenager as he grappled with his mental health. The DJ, real name Tim Bergling, died by suicide in Oman in 2018 aged just 28 after years of alcohol and painkiller addiction. In Måns Mosesson’s biography, Tim, the author revisits one of the musician’s first […]
AVICII feared he’d take his own life while drunk as a teenager as he grappled with his mental health.
The DJ, real name Tim Bergling, died by suicide in Oman in 2018 aged just 28 after years of alcohol and painkiller addiction.
In Måns Mosesson’s biography, Tim, the author revisits one of the musician’s first experiences of crippling anxiety after he smoked cannabis with friends in the school holidays.
A few weeks after the experience seemingly changed him, Tim began a thread on Swedish social media site Flashback.
He wrote: “Feels like I can’t really think clearly like I could three weeks ago, feels like everything is meaningless when the feeling is at its worst.
“I’m also worried about losing control of myself when I’m tipsy. Have never had these kind of problems before but I’m worried that my anxiety will increase when I get drunk and that I’ll feel like nothing matters and take my own life or something.”
Biographer Måns details how Tim smoked a joint on the beach on a night out in Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera ahead of his second year of high school.
He suffered a panic attack that made his throat feel like it was closing, his heart raced and his head throbbed.
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Back home in Stockholm weeks later, he felt disconnected from reality after an 11 hour session on his computer and began to worry that he was mentally ill.
He confided in his parents who did their best to reassure him his thoughts and experience weren’t common.
A visit to a psychiatrist both helped and exacerbated his situation. He was relieved to air his concerns, but the very fact he had to made him feel he was abnormal.
The anxiety continued to haunt him in the evenings when he was left alone with his own thoughts, and he grew concerned he might be suffering from derealisation – a condition where you feel the world around you isn’t real.
His solution at the time was to keep busy and distract himself, and there was nothing better for that than his music.
In the years that followed Avicii became a global sensation with hits like Wake Me Up and Levels dominating the airwaves.
But behind the scenes, the constant demands of touring while managing his anxiety took their toll.
He was diagnosed with pancreatitis aged 22 and told to quit booze – but it was something he was unable to do.
Expensive rehab stints, family interventions and intense meditation were unable to solve the internal and physical pain Tim was going through, and he eventually took his own life in 2018 while on holiday in Oman.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn’t discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It’s the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it’s rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You’re Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let’s all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You’re Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
- Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
- Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
- Movember, www.uk.movember.com
- Anxiety UK www.anxietyuk.org.uk, 03444 775 774 Monday-Friday 9.30am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 10am-8pm