Landon Barker opened up about his struggles with mental health and alcohol in a new profile for People, published on Monday, October 16. The pop-punk singer, 19, who is Travis Barker’s son, admitted that he had a “bad habit with alcohol,” and it heightened other mental health issues he was dealing with. He discussed going through bad panic attacks and being hospitalized for it.
Landon revealed that he struggles with OCD, ADHD, and anxiety, but drinking intensified those mental health issues. “It originally started with a bad habit with alcohol. I was abusing it and just abusing that substance, and then one day it just shocked me, and I had gone through that for months. It was awful, and I went through heightened OCD, heightened ADHD and heightened anxiety, all while disassociating and feeling like I was in a video game,” he said. “It was honestly awful.”
The “Friends With Your EX” rocker explained how he got caught in a loop of drinking. “I’ve always struggled with OCD, ADHD and anxiety, but yeah, disassociating and dissociation kind of just hit me like a truck last year and it was just the most awful experience. It kind of started with: I would drink, and then the day after, I would disassociate really bad, and that’s kind of how my habit of drinking a lot started,” he said, revealing that he’d “feel better” when he started drinking.
Landon said that getting a concussion in late 2022 made it so he couldn’t drink. He explained that “it all just got worse” after the concussion. He said that he was hospitalized about once a week because he was having “bad panic attacks from everything that was going on.”
Now, Landon is trying to avoid forming a drinking habit again, limiting himself to moderation. “I always tell myself, ‘I’ll only drink on special occasions now.’ I just steer away from everything,” he explained. “I’ve learned how to deal with my anxiety, my OCD, ADHD and my dissociation. I’ve learned all these tips and tricks and research so much, so I honestly did come out with a lot of knowledge on all of the stuff that I suffer with.”
The rocker also admitted that he was “scared” to begin taking medication, because he has “an addictive personality,” and he was worried about being “dependent.” He explained that going to therapy and working out were also helpful.
Besides mental health, Landon also opened up about how his relationship with Charli D’Amelio inspired his new single. He also chatted about taking inspiration from his dad and trying to carve out his own musical legacy. He also spoke about how great of a stepmom Kourtney Kardashian is.