Liam Payne Says People Were ‘Pushing’ Him Into Therapy After One Direction

Liam Payne recently revealed his mental health status following the One Direction hiatus in 2015. The star claimed he was “pushed” to attend therapy and shared how that affected him. Here’s what Payne had to say about his mental health journey throughout the years.

Liam Payne was part of One Direction from 2010 to 2015 when the group when on hiatus

Payne joined One Direction in 2010 when the group was formed on The X Factor. The star actually had auditioned before, in 2008, when he was only 14 years old. With One Direction, Payne made it to nearly the top spot on the show. The group finished third and went on to make five albums in five years while under the Syco Music record label.

One Direction members have since spoken about how their rigorous schedule, astronomical fame, and the influx of money affected their mental health. Payne got even more candid in a new podcast interview, discussing his own journey.

Liam Payne talked about going to therapy after One Direction

Payne opened up about his mental health experience post One Direction on The Diary of a CEO podcast.

“One of our old managers went to therapy from being a manager for One Direction,” he started. “The rest of us definitely need some. For me, for the most part, I was really regressing from therapy because everyone was pushing me into it, which is the worst thing you can do.”

He also said he was his own “worst enemy” for not allowing himself to benefit from therapy. “This time, I kind of threw myself into it, even though I didn’t really want to inside,” Payne continued. “I made my own choices.”

Payne also discussed bringing control to his life

Payne then talked about the level of control that others have had on his life for years.

“You get to a point where you have to take some control back yourself, and until I started to do that with my life, then I was living for everybody else,” Payne said. “… Nothing in my life was about serving myself, which then that put me in a bad place.”

The singer also chatted about how therapy has helped him discover parts of himself and do self-reflective work.

“I’m so glad that one, I went through what I went through this year,” Payne stated. “Two, I think this year forced something out of all of us. For me, it forced me to really look at my life and go, ‘What the eff are you doing? Grow up.'”

How to get help: In the U.S. and Canada, text the Crisis Text Line at 741741 to reach a crisis counselor for support.