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How the biggest stars in the world overcame their anxiety issues

Zayn says he has conquered his anxiety and eating disorders

His anxiety has previously stopped the star from performing live.

Anxiety issues are common and there is no surefire way to cure the condition, but there are ways to help sufferers minimize the effects.

Zayn Malik recently revealed how he has overcome his anxiety problems, with a little help from his mum. Here's how Zayn did it and how more celebrity sufferers beat this common, but debilitating, condition.

Zayn Malik

has spoken openly about how his anxiety has influenced his life and forced him to cancel a number of live shows, but in a new interview with The Sunday Times, he says he has beaten his demons.

I got back in touch, mentally, with a lot of the things I’d lost
Zayn Malik

He says his anxiety and eating disorder stemmed from his time in One Direction but that he recovered when he spent time at home with his mum.

"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’," he told the newspaper.

"Once I got over the control, the eating just came back into place, super 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.

"I now have no problem with anxiety. It was something I was dealing with in the band."

Lady Gaga

A lot of people talk about the power and importance of saying 'yes', but says she didn't start beating her anxiety issues until she started saying 'no'.

Slowly but surely, I remembered who I am
Lady Gaga

"I started to say no. I'm not doing that. I don't want to do that," she said during a speech at Yale University in 2015.

"And slowly but surely, I remembered who I am. And then you go home, and you look in the mirror, and you're like, 'Yes. I can go to bed with you every night.' Because that person, I know that person."

Lena Dunham

Girls star Lena said that she managed to overcome her mental health problems after years of medication by taking up exercise - although she said that people with anxiety eye-roll every time someone suggests hitting the gym.

It ain't about the ass, it's about the brain
Lena Dunham

"To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it's mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen," she wrote in a post on Instagram.

"I'm glad I did. It ain't about the ass, it's about the brain."

Chris Evans

Chris is best known for playing Captain America in the Avengers movies, but in real life he faces an ongoing battle with internal super-villains.

It is really good just to talk about what you're struggling with
Chris Evans

"I struggle with anxiety sometimes, especially when promoting films like this," he told Shortlist magazine in an interview about Captain America.

But he later revealed that his coping mechanism was to make sure he was as vocal about his struggles as possible.

"It is really good just to talk about what you're struggling with," he told The New York Times.

"It's not like I had any massive breakthrough, but for some reason this feels more manageable."

Adele

Adele's biggest fear was performing live and now she's on the biggest world tour of her life.

I try to bust jokes. It does work
Adele

Her shows have been packed with huge hit singles and her trademark humour, but there's more to her jokes and on-stage banter than a few lols. She uses jokes to cope with her anxiety problems.

"I just think that nothing's ever gone horrifically wrong," she said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

"Also, when I get nervous, I try to bust jokes. It does work."

Demi Lovato

follows the same example as Chris Evans, saying that the more suffers talk about their anxiety issues, the more people around them will understand what they are going through.

There’s a lack of compassion for people who have mental illnesses
Demi Lovato

"I think the more people vocalize what they’re going through, their experience or just simply educating themselves so that they can learn more about what they’re talking about — that’s going to be the key to creating a conversation about mental illness and making it more understood," she told The Huffington Post in 2015.

"There’s a lack of compassion for people who have mental illnesses and there’s a lot of judgment.

"Once you make people realize that mental illness can happen to anybody — and it’s not anybody’s fault — then I think they’ll become more understanding of what mental illness really is."

Khloe Kardashin

Like Lena Dunham, Khloe found that her anxiety eased when she embarked on a fitness regime and started pounding the treadmill at the gym.

The gym has taken away so much of my stress
Khloe Kardashian

"I promise you, the gym has taken away so much of my stress," she told Marie Claire magazine.

"It has helped calm me down. When I'm fidgety and I just feel like everything is closing in, I go to the gym."

"You're building endorphins and feeling good about yourself. It's saved me."

Selena Gomez

was forced to take time out from her celebrity life in August 2016 when her anxiety became too much for her to stay in public life.

I need to face this head on
Selena Gomez

She took time away from the spotlight to focus on herself and her wellbeing.

"I've discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges," she said in a message to US publication, People magazine.

"I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off ... I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best."

She's now back in the charts with her new Kygo collaboration It Ain't Me, so taking some me-time clearly worked wonders for her.

Jennifer Lawrence

JLaw is one of the most famous actors in the world, but she has confessed to struggling with being known by so many people.

I’ve got to try to let it go, and try to be myself
Jennifer Lawrence

She says she deals with her anxiety by imagining there are two versions of her - one everyone sees and one she keeps for herself.

"I find a certain peace by thinking of me in public as sort of an avatar self," she told Madame Figaro magazine.

"You out there can have the avatar me. I can keep me. And I just try to acknowledge that this scrutiny is stressful, and that anyone would find it stressful.

"So I’ve got to try to let it go, and try to be myself, and focus on important things, like picking up dog poop."