Travis Barker’s son, Landon Barker, was honest about “abusing” alcohol while discussing how the “bad habit” affected his mental health.
“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,” Barker, 20, told People in an interview published on Monday, October 16. “I was watching my whole entire life through a movie screen. It was honestly awful.”
The “Die in California” musician said it was an experience that he “had gone through for months,” noting that he now drinks in moderation.
“I think 100 percent it’s important for me to not make that a habit again,” he said of drinking. “I always tell myself, ‘I’ll only drink on special occasions now.’ I just steer away from everything.”
Other than struggling with alcohol, Landon opened up with his other mental health issues, including “OCD, ADHD and anxiety,” explaining that he had a rough patch with “dissociation” in 2022.
“[It] kind of just hit me like a truck last year and it was just the most awful experience,” he recalled. “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. It was like, ‘Oh, I’d feel better the second that I had a drink.’”
However, a medical issue helped him realize that he “couldn’t drink” regularly anymore.
“When I got my concussion, I kind of just had to deal with it and I would just, I don’t know, I just hated life for three or four months. It was pretty awful,” Landon shared. “I remember I would just go to the hospital once a week just because I would have such bad panic attacks from everything that was going on.”
He’s since learned how to cope by researching “tips and tricks” to deal with his issues.
“Honestly, I was a little bit too scared to start medication,” Landon added. “I just know how I get just having kind of an addictive personality, and I feel like I would be too scared to put myself in a dependent situation where I must use something every single day. I was just a little bit too nervous to even try it, but I was doing a lot of therapy and working out, and it was helpful.”
Another thing that helped him get through the hard times was creating music. Landon released his debut single, “Friends With Your EX” last month, but he’s also collaborated with Machine Gun Kelly on the song “Die in California.”
When Kelly, 33, heard Landon singing the track when they shared a studio, the rapper decided to put the song on his 2022 Mainstream Sellout album.
“It was kind of like a song that started out with an idea, something about not liking the person that you used to be,” Landon said of the collab. “But basically, it’s like a mental health song, kind of going through it, but it just formed into what it is today, naturally and supernaturally.”
Through his music and social media, Landon has since realized that it’s easier to speak publicly about his issues.
“All the messages that I got when I posted about it honestly made me feel better,” he said. “Looking to the public for support and more knowledge was honestly comforting for me and letting people know truly who I am, even on my phone through a social media platform was actually kind of helpful for me.”
In addition to his music, Landon has made headlines for his love life, making appearances on girlfriend Charli D’Amelio’s Hulu series, The D’Amelio Show.
