Israeli rock star Evyatar Banai opens up about his struggles with addiction

In a dance between divine devotion and pop stardom's glare, Banai's soul wrestled with mental health demons while straddling two seemingly irreconcilable worlds. His journey from teenage sensation to religious scholar, marked by escapes to India and battles with addiction, traces the delicate path of an artist seeking wholeness in a fractured existence.

Popular Israeli musician Evyatar Banai got real about his struggles with drugs, alcohol and mental health in a candid new interview.

"I've dealt with addiction and complex mental health challenges," the 51-year-old artist revealed on the "1+1" podcast. "From Cipralex to alcohol to drugs - I fell into patterns with substances that took over my life."

Banai, who comes from Israel's legendary artistic family and has been making waves in the music scene since '97, says he's finding healing through a 12-step program and his music. "When you finally face your pain instead of numbing it, that's where the real work begins," he shared.

The musician's journey has been quite the ride - from secular rock star to returning to religious life in 2004, from experimental electronica to chamber pop. These days, he's living in Jerusalem with his wife and five kids, still making music while teaching at a yeshiva.

His latest albums dropped during pretty heavy times - "Peace Talks" came out in September, followed by "Anchor in Water," where he covered Israeli classics during the early days of the current conflict.

Banai also took a swing at religious politics, saying he can't get behind spiritual leaders turning politicians. "When religion and politics mix, it just feels wrong," said the artist, whose own father ironically bucked the family trend by becoming a judge.

Yossi Klein Halevi said, "Through all his phases, what made Evyatar unique in Israeli music was his relentless, even brutal self-scrutiny [which] he carried from his secular into his religious life."

That plus his leap to early fame which he struggled to deal with, even running away to India to get away from it and/or process it, plus being a 'restless soul, straining against limits, trying to be whole" seem like a prefect recipe for mental health troubles.

For a man who lives in two such opposite worlds, a Haredi teacher and an Israel popstar, opening up about mental health is a pretty big shift. His fans are here for it though - seems like the timing's right for some real talk about addiction and healing in Israel's music scene.

Channel 12 contributed to this article.