Halsey Says They're 'Lucky To Be Alive' After Sharing Serious Health Issues

5 June 2024, 16:03 | Updated: 5 June 2024, 19:42

Halsey opens up about her illness and health struggles with release of new song. Picture: Unique Nicole/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

By Katie Louise Smith

What illness does Halsey have? The artist has opened up about their health issues over the past few years.

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Ahead of the release of their new album, Halsey has opened up to fans about their health struggles in a brand new single and social media post.

Yesterday (June 4th), Halsey released 'The End', a moving ballad in which she sings about her illness and how it's affected her life. Alongside the new song, Halsey also shared an Instagram post with a series of photos and videos featuring clips of hospital visits and glimpses into the recovery journey.

Captioning the post, Halsey (who uses she/they pronouns) wrote: "long story short, i’m Lucky to be alive. short story long, i wrote an album. it begins with The End. out now."

In a second Instagram post, Halsey confirmed that she had been diagnosed with Lupus SLE in 2022, as well as a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. She has shared that while both of these are currently "being managed or in remission", she will likely have them for the duration of her life.

Halsey has previously been incredibly open about their health issues over the past few years. Here's what they've shared publicly.

Read more: Halsey Shares Health Update Revealing PoTS And Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Diagnosis

Halsey has previously shared their PoTS and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome diagnosis. Picture: Getty

Long-time fans of Halsey will know that the artist has shared several updates about their health over the last few years; from having endometriosis to the complications and symptoms that have been exacerbated due to the effects of the chronic illness.

In May 2022, Halsey took to Instagram Stories to share an update with fans about her health after they became worried about her. At the time, she had recently been diagnosed with PoTS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjögren's syndrome and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome.

"Obviously my health has changed a lot since I got pregnant and gave birth, and I started getting really, really, really sick. I've been sick pretty much all of my adult life but it started getting really bad," Halsey explained. "I was hospitalised for anaphylaxis a few times and I had some other stuff going on."

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"Basically, after seeing like a hundred thousand doctors I got diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjögren's syndrome, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, PoTS [Postural tachycardia syndrome] and I'm still looking for answers to some of the root causes for some of these things," Halsey continued.

Halsey added that they have known they had autoimmune issues their whole life, but they have worsened since welcoming son, Ender, in 2021.

According to the NHS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is an inherited disorder that affects your connective tissues. Sjögren's syndrome is a condition that affects parts of the body that produce fluids, causing dryness all over the body as well as joint pain and difficulty remembering things.

PoTs is an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting up or standing, while Mast Cell Activation syndrome, which is caused by abnormal mast cells or abnormal release of chemicals contained within them.

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In Halsey's latest update, she included a video of her rubbing her legs as she says: "I feel like an old lady. I told myself I’m giving myself two more years to be sick... I’m having a rebirth, and I’m not going to be sick, and I’m going to look super hot and have lots of energy and I’m just going to get to redo my twenties in my thirties."

In 'The End', Halsey sings: Every couple of years now, a doctor says I’m sick / Pulls out a brand new bag of tricks / And then they lay it on me / And at first, it was my brain, then a skeleton in pain.

Later in the song, Halsey adds: When I met you, I said I would never die / But the joke was always mine, ’cause I’m racing against time.

In the wake of the release of Halsey's new song and their Instagram post, fans all over the world have flocked to send love and support to the artist.

"The amount of bullsh-- you’ve endured and you’re still pushing everyday, you inspire us all," one fan wrote. Another added: "Omg. And the fact that you’re still going strong with your family, About Face, and a new album. We don’t deserve you, but thank you."