PHOTOSZayn Malik Reveals How He Overcame His Anxiety Issues & Eating Disorder
March 19 2017, Published 7:17 p.m. ET
As if you needed another reason to love Zayn Malik, the 24-year-old singer gave a brave and inspiring interview about his struggles with metal health, including his battle with an eating disorder and anxiety, while he was a member of One Direction.
“It wasn’t specifically an eating disorder,” he told The Sunday Times Style magazine. “It was a control thing. Every area of my life was so regimented and controlled the boys in 1D would sometimes have to go straight from playing a stadium to recording new material in the evening, 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.” He corrects himself. “Not supernaturally! 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.”
And when it comes to opening up the dialogue, and changing the narrative of men with eating disorders, Zayn said: “People saw strength when I opened up about my eating disorder, 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.”
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The singer, who is dating Gigi Hadid, also battled with anxiety and even pulled out of several live performances due to the crippling disorder.
“I now have no problem with anxiety,” he told the mag. “It was something I was dealing with in the band.”
What do you think about Zayn’s interview? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!
