Shawn Mendes Needed to ‘Slow Down’ Amid Tour, Says Source: ‘Being in the Public Eye Has Put Pressure’ on Him

Shawn Mendes announced on July 8 that he’d be postponing three weeks of upcoming concert dates until “further notice” to “take care of myself and my mental health”

After more than seven years in the spotlight, Shawn Mendes has learned to better manage his mental health.

A source tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that “being in the public eye has long put a lot of pressure” on the singer, 24, who announced on social media on Friday that until “further notice,” he’d be pushing back three weeks of upcoming concert dates on his Wonder world tour to “take some time to heal and take care of myself and my mental health.”

While Mendes has had difficulty “finding a balance between work and taking care of his mental health” in the past, the source says that “he is now able to identify triggers that make it necessary for him to slow down and focus on his health. He wants to give 100 percent of his energy and focus to his tour and his fans.”

In his statement, Mendes — who had kicked off the North American leg of his tour on June 27 — said that it’s “always been difficult” for him “to be on the road away from friends and family.”

While he initially felt ready to “dive back in” after “a few years off the road,” he said the decision was “premature and unfortunately, the toll of the road and the pressure has caught up to me, and I’ve hit a breaking point.”

He concluded his statement saying, “As soon as there are more updates I promise I will let you know love you guys.”

Mendes previously opened up about having anxiety in a 2018 interview with Beats 1 host Zane Lowe. A year later, he told PEOPLE that going public with his struggle was “one of the scariest but most important things I’ve ever done.”

At the time, Mendes said that addressing his anxiety on his single “In My Blood,” which would go on to earn a Grammy nomination, was cathartic.

“Just doing that helped me the most,” he said. “I still struggle with it but just remember every day that everyone deals with some level of anxiety or pressure; we’re all in it together.”

In December 2021 — weeks after his public split from girlfriend Camila Cabello, 25 — Mendes said that he had been having a “hard time” with social media.

After first thanking his supporters for connecting with his new song, “It’ll Be Okay,” he said, “I’m having a little bit of a hard time with social media at the moment, just kind of my relationship with it, but I have lots of people sending me videos and telling me what’s going on.”

“I see a lot of TikToks of people crying and getting emotional and stuff, and I hope that’s because there’s some truth in the song [‘It’ll Be Okay’], and there lies honestly in it,” he continued.