Justin Bieber's bodyguards checked his pulse at night at the height of his drug-using days
The 27-year-old pop star battled with substance abuse after he rose to fame as a teenager because he wanted to numb the "emptiness" he felt, despite his global success and things got so bad, his staff feared he'd lose his life
16 April 2021
In a new interview, the 'Hold On' hitmaker - who credits his Christian faith and wife Hailey Bieber, 24, with saving him - told the May issue of GQ magazine: "There was a sense of still yearning for more.
"It was like I had all this success and it was still like: 'I'm still sad, and I'm still in pain. And I still have these unresolved issues.' And I thought all the success was going to make everything good.
"And so for me, the drugs were a numbing agent to just continue to get through."
Justin claimed people in the industry tried to "benefit" from his "insecurities" and turn him into a person he didn't "want to be".
He continued: "I just lost control of my vision for my career. There's all these opinions. And in this industry, you've got people that unfortunately prey on people's insecurities and use that to their benefit. And so when that happens, obviously that makes you angry.
"And then you're this young angry person who had these big dreams, and then the world just jades you and makes you into this person that you don't want to be.
"And then you wake up one day and your relationships are f***** up and you're unhappy and you have all this success in the world, but you're just like: Well, what is this worth if I'm still feeling empty inside?"
The 'Freedom' singer desperately turned to God and religion to seek answers about his purpose in life.
He explained: "He is grace. I came to a place where I just was like, 'God, if you're real, I need you to help me, because I can't do this on my own. Like, I'm struggling so hard. Every decision I make is out of my own selfish ego.'
"So I'm just like, 'What is it that you want from me? You put all these desires in my heart for me to sing and perform and to make music - where are these coming from? Why is this in my heart? What's the point? What is the point of everything? What is the point of me being on this planet?' "
Justin previously confessed to using marijuana from the age of 13 as an "escape" from his life in the spotlight.
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