HARDY is opening up about one of the toughest times in his life. The singer-songwriter took some time off the road last year, to deal with his anxiety, following injuries he sustained in a bus accident in 2022. Although mental health is something that isn’t often talked about, especially by superstars, HARDY knew he wanted to share his own struggles with the rest of the world.

“When you go through a really hard time, I think it’s good for you, because it’s all part of the processing. But sometimes it’s tough to go back to those places,” HARDY shares on Audacy’s Katie & Company. “And a lot of mine came from trauma from the bus accident that I hadn’t really worked through yet. So kind of having to go back to that can be tough.

“But I was in a really, really dark place, and was just dealing with a lot of, honestly, just anxiety, like this uncontrollable wave of horrible anxiety,” he continues. “And I had a week that was like hell week for me, and I just, I couldn’t. I don’t know what happened. And not conveniently or coincidentally — it was very not coincidental — but it was a year to the day of the bus wreck, was when everything just started happening.”

When HARDY announced he was taking a break from his headlining the mockingbird & THE CROW Tour, he said he had experienced some panic attacks that were severe enough to land him in the hospital. HARDY took the time off that he needed, but he also determined to tour less in the future, and spend more time focusing on himself.

“I have the best team in the world,” HARDY says. “And I sat everybody down, and I wrote a note after, and I just said, ‘This is how I want to manage my life, at least for now, and maybe at some point [I will] want to tour or put more on my plate.”

In a separate Audacy interview, the 33-year-old says he is grateful that he took the time off of the road to focus on himself.

“I just had to take some time and figure my brain out, I think more than anything,” Hardy maintains. “I’m really happy I did that. I’ve taken a lot of steps to [do] that…I think living in a constant state of gratefulness, and knowing how lucky I am to have this life and this job, and not resisting it or resenting it at all, and living more in the lifestyle and in the headspace of ‘Wow, this is amazing.’ And just trying to do that more and more helps kind of stabilize the crazy concept behind fame and success and stuff like that.”

The “Truck Bed” singer wants to be known for his music, of course, but he also wants to be known as someone who was brave and bold enough to speak out about a subject that for many is taboo.

“I just want to be remembered, and when you have an opportunity like this, why not do something that’s gonna leave an ultimate mark or handprint or fingerprint or whatever you wanna call that on what you did,” HARDY reflects.

“[I want to] try to build something really special that people can look back on in 50, 60, 70, 80, however many years, and just say, ‘Man, that was really cool, and what that person did was special, and it helped change, or it helped guide people that wanted to be different or wanted to be bold to follow in those footsteps.'”

HARDY will embark on his Quit!! Tour on May 30, with Kip Moore serving as direct support. Find all of HARDY’s music and upcoming shows at HardyOfficial.com.