Justin Bieber on battle with drug abuse: 'Bodyguards would monitor my pulse'

Justin Bieber reflected on his struggles with substance abuse in the past wherein he used to be constantly monitored by his bodyguards.

In a rare confessional interview, the Canadian singer touched upon his past drug use in GQ's May issue.

He detailed his reliance on drugs became so extreme that his bodyguards used to check his pulse in the middle of the night to make sure he is alive.

"There was a sense of still yearning for more," Bieber recalled. "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."

He proceeded to add how he lost focus on his career. "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 [expletive] 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 pop star continued.