J. Balvin opens up on his battle with depression

MUMBAI: Latin Grammy-winning singer J. Balvin has given an insight into his battle with depression and anxiety.

The singer, who has belted out hits such as "Mi gente", "X" and "Bum bum tam tam" among many others, opened up on the subject in a chat on the Amazon Music podcast titled "En La Salaon", reports etonline.com.

In the conversation, he shared that there was a point in his life where he "didn't want to live".

"I was just crying for no reason. Didn't want to wake up. Didn't want to eat, didn't even want to live," he said.

Balvin told the show host that the period of depression that led to his diagnosis happened seven years ago, adding that he has suffered from anxiety and depression since childhood.

"You lose hope and you feel strange at every place you go. You feel like you are outside of your body. I've been shaking since I was a kid, and I've always had it, but I just didn't know it was anxiety," he said.

The podcast host added that in their culture "it's so hard to ask for help".

Balvin said that the last thing he wanted to do was seek help because he didn't want to think he "was crazy".

"I remember that I was in bed for, like, five days and I was just waiting to die. 'I don't have the balls to kill myself but I will just wait'. Of course, my whole family was devastated because at the time I wasn't as known as I am right now.... At the time, I quit my career and I love music," he added.

Balvin finally went to see a doctor and started his treatment for depression. "Since then, I have been medicated and I don't feel bad about it," he said.

He shared that he recently had an episode after he felt well amid quarantine and decided to stop taking his medication without informing his doctor. The singer then started having anxiety and worrying about Covid-19. He was eventually contracted and has since recovered.