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Zayn Malik leaves One Direction anxiety issues behind him

Last year Zayn Malik caused us to be very concerned for his wellbeing when he cancelled a series of his first ever solo performances moments before he was due to go on stage.

At the time, the former One Direction star bravely opened up about his erratic behaviour and admitted it was caused by his feelings of anxiety.

Life in the spotlight: Zayn sighted out and about in New York (Copyright: Kristin Callahan/ACE/REX/Shutterstock)
Life in the spotlight: Zayn sighted out and about in New York (Copyright: Kristin Callahan/ACE/REX/Shutterstock)

Since then, the 24-year-old singer has released his hit debut album ‘Pillow Talk’, collaborated with Taylor Swift on the song ‘I Don’t Want To Live Forever’ for the ‘Fifty Shades’ sound track and released a book and fashion line. It begs the question, is he looking after his mental health as he seems to take on even more work projects?

Zayn finally gave us an update in an interview over the weekend and revealed that his anxiety first developed when he was in One Direction, but he’s reassured fans that he now has it under control.

Speaking to the Sunday Times Style magazine, Zayn said: “I now have no problem with anxiety. It was something I was dealing with in the band.”

It's finally here! Today's cover star is @Zayn. Click the link in bio to get the full shoot and interview. #zaynXstyle

A post shared by The Sunday Times Style (@theststyle) on Mar 19, 2017 at 2:34am PDT

And he believes opening up about his issues with food helped.

He said: “People saw strength in that, and they didn’t seem to expect it from a guy, but they expect it from a female, which to me is crazy. We’re all human. People are often afraid to admit difficulties, but I don’t believe that there should be a struggle with anything that’s the truth.”

Zayn revealed his issues with food in his first autobiography and described it as a “control thing” rather than a disorder.

He explained: “It wasn’t specifically an eating disorder. It was a control thing. Every area of my life was so regimented and controlled, it was the one area where I could say, ‘No, I’m not eating that.’ Once I got over the control, the eating just came back into place, super naturally. Not supernaturally!

Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are seen leaving the four seasons hotel and arriving for evening dinner in Paris (Splash)
Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid are seen leaving the four seasons hotel and arriving for evening dinner in Paris (Splash)

“Just really naturally. I came back to the UK and spent some time with my mum and got some TLC, and she cooked me food and I got back in touch, mentally, with a lot of the things I’d lost.”

Zayn also admitted he has no idea why he was known as the “mysterious one” when he was in One Direction, alongside Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson.

He said: “I have no idea why. It was obviously a marketing strategy to appeal to different areas of female personalities and wants and needs. ‘I might want a cute one’, ‘I might want a cheeky one’, ‘I might want a mysterious one’, that’s all it was. It’s cool, that’s life, I guess. I don’t really think of myself as mysterious, but maybe I am.”

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