Leona Lewis has ''learned to deal'' with negativity.

The 'Footprints in the Sand' hitmaker has admitted she suffered from some terrible lows in the past but says she has since realised to put less emphasis on the bad things people say.

She said: ''Well, before, if someone used to say something negative, I'd take it to heart, but now I've realised they don't know me personally so I've learned to deal with it differently.

''I don't stress as much and I don't place my value on what other people think.''

And the 30-year-old star - who penned an open letter last year where she admitted to not coping well with negative public perception, has insisted she has never suffered from depression.

She told OK! magazine: ''A lot of people said: 'Oh, you have depression,' or asked me if I did, but I never have.

''What I do have is times like everyone else where I'm up and down. I felt like people had only seen the happy side of me and that's not all there is.''

Leona also revealed that her new album, 'I Am', is inspired by a feeling of empowerment rather than a ''vulnerability'' like her previous LPs.