Enter Shikari's Rou Reynolds opens up on anxiety disorder

Rou Reynolds has shared his experiences of general anxiety disorder.

The Enter Shikari frontman recalls “surviving on adrenaline” as he suffered from insomnia, exhaustion and experienced a severe panic attack last year.

He says on Twitter: “It’s strange to think that this time last year I’d only slept six hours this week. I was halfway through 12 weeks of insomnia and general anxiety disorder.

“After suffering from exhaustion I had the nastiest panic attack of my life and I was hospitalised, forcing us to cancel our Download warm-up show.

“At its worst, some mornings after failing to sleep at all once more, I’d get up feeling utterly distraught and just burst into tears – and the months that followed became some of the most strange and difficult of my life.”

Reynolds continues: “I don’t remember Download festival at all. I was a shell of a man surviving on adrenaline. Even had vitamin shots to the arse. I’ve never felt further from the little cockpit of one’s mind. I felt detached, inept and scared.”

He also calls for a mental healthcare overhaul in the UK – with more NHS funding and a yearly check-up scheme.

Reynolds adds: “The NHS is terminally underfunded and the mental health sections often get the worst brunt of the cuts. A wise psychology of the future will be practiced like dentistry.

“Check-ups every year for all – for free, I hope – even if there are no ‘problems.’”

Enter Shikari have a number of tour dates scheduled in Russia, Japan and Australia over the coming months.

Enter Shikari tour dates 2016

Jul 15: Bontida Eletric Castle Festival, Romania
Jul 30 Yantarny Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia
Aug 24: Budapest Barba Negra Track, Hungary
Sep 06: Shibuya O-East, Japan
Sep 08: Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Sep 09: Nagoya Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Sep 10: Tokyo Minato Osaka Blitz, Japan
Sep 19: Melbourne Billboard Saturdays, Australia
Sep 20: Newstead Triffid, Australia
Sep 21: Sydney Metro Theatre, Australia
Sep 22: Hindmarsh Gov, Australia
Sep 04: Fremantle Metropolis, Australia

Enter Shikari on The Mindsweep, politics and Russell Brand

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Former TeamRock news desk member Christina joined our team in late 2015, and although her time working on online rock news was fairly brief, she made a huge impact by contributing close to 1500 stories. Christina also interviewed artists including Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and worked at the Download festival. In late 2016, Christina left rock journalism to pursue a career in current affairs. In 2021, she was named Local Weekly Feature Writer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards.