Launched in 2013, the harris project is a nonprofit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of co-occurring disorders (COD) — the combination of mental health challenges and substance use issues. Us Weekly has partnered with the harris project to bring you The Missing Issue, a special edition focusing on the stories of celebrities who struggled with COD. Here, we’re revisiting our past coverage of some of those stars.
This story ran on usmagazine.com on December 29, 2021:
ORIGINAL STORY: Avicii Wrote About Dealing With ‘Urgent’ Pain in Final Journal Entries Before 2018 Death
[Read the full original story.]
NEW STORY: Avicii Wrote About Using Alcohol to Deal With ‘Urgent’ Pain in Journal Entries Before 2018 Death
The death by suicide of DJ/producer Avicii (born Tim Bergling) in April 2018 at age 28 shocked fans across the globe, who knew him as the singular talent behind such dance hits as “Levels” and “Wake Me Up.”
The Stockholm, Sweden native’s struggles with anxiety, alcoholism and other health issues — including pancreatitis and gallbladder and appendix surgeries — were later explored in the book Tim — The Official Biography of Avicii by Måns Mosesson, featuring personal journal entries written during Avicii’s stays at treatment facilities. But the musician also discussed his battles with physical pain and heavy drinking in numerous interviews in the years leading up to his death, culminating in his 2016 retirement from touring to focus on his well-being. “[I realized] that I needed to make the change that I’d been struggling with for a while,” he told fans via his website, per multiple outlets.
Ultimately, Avicii’s co-occurring disorders were misuse of alcohol and prescription medications along with anxiety.
Avicii died at the age of 28 on April 20, 2018. The DJ, whose real name was Tim Bergling, began his music career in 2007, signing on with the Dejfitts Plays label. He released his first hit, “Seek Bromance,” in 2010, which topped charts in several countries. Later that year, he signed with EMI Music Publishing. On […]
He Misused Alcohol to Cope With Nerves
Bergling told GQ in March 2013 that he developed a drinking problem early on in his career to deal with self-doubt—and that touring gave him easy access and ample opportunity to create a habit that quickly became habitual. “You are traveling around, you live in a suitcase, you get to this place, there’s free alcohol everywhere,” he said. “It’s sort of weird if you don’t drink … I was so nervous. I just got into a habit, because you rely on that encouragement and self-confidence you get from alcohol, and then you get dependent on it.”
In the 2017 documentary Avicii: True Stories, he revealed he was worried that he was too “stiff” onstage when he hadn’t been drinking. “So then I found the magical cure of just having a couple drinks before going on.”
As His Anxiety Grew, So Did Substance Misuse: ‘It Was Constant’
Another documentary, Netflix’s Avicii — I’m Tim, which hit the streamer in December 2024, highlights just how much the DJ began to rely on prescription drugs to suppress his growing anxiety. “I just felt anxious,” he explained in voiceover. “I didn’t know where the anxiety came from. I could feel it physically in my gut. It was like a stone in my gut, that’s how it felt. And it was constant. A constant emotion.”
In an interview with CBS This Morning in 2019, Avicii’s father, Klas, said that his son had also struggled with anxiety. He said that he and wife, Anki, saw their son’s anxiety as a teenager and connected him with professional help.
“When you have a child that’s not feeling well, you try everything to get the situation right again,” Klas said. “And you try to understand what’s going on. So, we went to a psychiatrist. I think he was 14 or 15, yeah. And he sort of calmed Tim down.”
But when it became apparent that his son was misusing substances as a coping mechanism, Klas eventually staged an intervention with the help of Arash Pournouri, Avicii’s co-producer and manager. Though initially reluctant, Avicii did agree to get treatment. “It finally registered. We were thrilled. It got through to him,” Klas said in the Netflix doc. “I think he realized it was time for him to do something about it.”
DJ Avicii spins at Marquee on June 17, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage) Johnny Nunez/WireImage
After his son’s death, Klas told CBS This Morning that his son had been very open about his struggles with anxiety and depression because “he was searching.”
“When you’re an active producer, artist, your mind almost all the time is on,” Klas continued. “He was producing music almost all the time. So, I think that he needed something to balance this. That’s why he tried to go into … thinking about life and ways to get a little calmer life … so, meditation.”
Avicii reportedly tried to meditate for full days as opposed to timed increments, and a friend expressed concerns that he was refusing to take breaks to eat or speak.
Despite being aware of his struggles, having support around him and trying to use coping tools outside of substance misuse, he often felt overwhelmed.
Honoring His Life Struggles to Help Others
When Avicii died by suicide, his family released a statement that read, in part: “Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions. An overachieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress … He really struggled with thoughts about Meaning, Life, Happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace.”
Avicii’s family has announced their plans for his upcoming funeral. “There have been many inquiries regarding the funeral arrangements for Tim Bergling, known by music fans as Avicii,” a rep for the late DJ said in statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, May 22. “The Bergling family has now confirmed that the funeral will be […]
To purchase The Missing Issue for $8.99 go to https://magazineshop.us/harrisproject.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health and/or substance use, you are not alone. Seek immediate intervention — call 911 for medical attention; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline; or 1-800-662-HELP for the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) National Helpline. Carrying naloxone (Narcan) can help reverse an opioid overdose.
