Zayn Malik has spoken some more about his much-publicised struggles with anxiety, saying in a new interview that admitting to suffering from it is seen “like a weakness”.

The 23 year old former One Direction singer cancelled a number of scheduled high-profile live performances, such as the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium in June, and a huge gig in Dubai in September, because of what he described as “extreme anxiety”.

Zayn Malik Gigi HadidZayn Malik and Gigi Hadid at the Met Gala 2016

“Anxiety is something people don't necessarily want to advertise because it's seen, in a way, like a weakness,” he told Evening Standard Magazine this week.

“For me to pretend that I didn't have anxiety would be fake. I speak about it so that people understand that it doesn't matter what level of success you have, where you're from, who you are, what sex you are, what you do - you can still experience these things. I want people to see the good side to me and, yeah, the emotional stress of maybe not fulfilling that is a lot sometimes.”

More: Zayn Malik reveals serious eating disorder during his years in One Direction

Earlier this week, excerpts from the star’s new autobiography, ‘ZAYN’, revealed that Malik suffered from an eating disorder during his time with 1D, where he wouldn’t eat for up to three days at a time, which he says was a way for him to exercise personal control amid the maelstrom of the band’s schedule.

Elsewhere in the interview, he was asked whether if, he could go back in time to when he was 17, he would have joined One Direction at such a young age.

“I probably wouldn't have,” he replied, “I would've waited a couple more extra years. Just so I had that time to just get my head around being a famous person. I've never been able to have, what's the word? Anonymity.”

The star, who is currently enjoying a successful solo career with his single ‘Pillowtalk’ reaching No.1 around the world, added that he was “very ignorant at 17 - blind beyond my years.”

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