Lil Xan Talks Relapse on Heels of Lil Peep's Death Anniversary

Lil Xan said he relapsed but what really scared him straight were the seizures he suffered ... the effects of quitting cold turkey in his attempt to beat his drug habit.

Rumors were swirling as to why the rapper had been out of the public eye for some time. But, Xan now tells TMZ he relapsed on pain killers -- specifically Xanax and hydrocodone.

He says he wanted to get back on track -- by quitting ... cold turkey. But, Xan says that was a TERRIBLE idea ... because the withdrawals resulted in several seizures while he was in the hospital getting detoxed.

The rapper says the seizures were a massive wake-up call. As we first reported ... Xan admitted last November he had an addiction problem. He vowed to kick the habit following the deaths of Mac Miller in September 2018 and Lil Peep in November 2017. Xan says he thought a lot about Peep as he was relapsing ... the late rapper's 2-year anniversary was fast approaching.

Xan ultimately went to rehab and got better ... until his recent setback. He says when rumors were swirling he wasn't ready to tell the world about him falling off the wagon.