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Zayn Malik Reveals How He Overcame His Anxiety Issues & Eating Disorder
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Mar. 19 2017, Published 7:17 p.m. ET
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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.
![Zayn malik reveals how he overcame his anxiety issues and eating disorder 01](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/480x307/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/640x409/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/768x490/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/1024x653/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/1280x817/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/1440x919/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/1600x1021/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/F9PVkmjeI/2160x1378/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-01.jpg 2160w)
“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.”
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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.”
![Zayn malik reveals how he overcame his anxiety issues and eating disorder 03](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/480x307/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/640x409/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/768x490/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/1024x653/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/1280x817/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/1440x919/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/1600x1021/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/w7ynt_w4n/2160x1378/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-03.jpg 2160w)
The singer, who is dating Gigi Hadid, also battled with anxiety and even pulled out of several live performances due to the crippling disorder.
![Zayn malik reveals how he overcame his anxiety issues and eating disorder 04](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/480x307/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/640x409/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/768x490/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/1024x653/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/1280x817/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/1440x919/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/1600x1021/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/66PouldVL/2160x1378/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-04.jpg 2160w)
“I now have no problem with anxiety,” he told the mag. “It was something I was dealing with in the band.”
![Zayn malik reveals how he overcame his anxiety issues and eating disorder 05](https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/480x307/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 480w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/640x409/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 640w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/768x490/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 768w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/1024x653/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 1024w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/1280x817/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 1280w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/1440x919/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 1440w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/1600x1021/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 1600w, https://media.okmagazine.com/brand-img/NzlWR6BM9/2160x1378/2017/03/zayn-malik-reveals-how-he-overcame-his-anxiety-issues-and-eating-disorder-05.jpg 2160w)
What do you think about Zayn’s interview? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!