One Direction's Zayn Malik advised to seek professional help due to his anxiety

While Zayn Malik’s departure from One Direction left many fans in tears, fears quickly dissipated as he remained in the limelight on his own. However, the fame and constant movement seems to have gotten to the musician, and former Spice Girls member Mel C has suggested that he seek professional help.

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Malik, who was the first member of One Direction to leave the boy band, cancelled two scheduled gigs due to “extreme anxiety.” In addition, he admitted in his autobiography, entitled “Zayn,” that he has suffered from an eating disorder. “I’d just go for days -- sometimes two or three days straight -- without eating anything at all,” he wrote (via Entertainment Tonight).

After leaving the band, Malik was able to get better. In hindsight, he admitted that having the disorder was more about control, as opposed to it steming from the pressure of having to look a certain way.

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Another person that has experienced life in the spotlight is Mel C, who openly admitted in the December issue of Attitude Magazine (via The Sun) that fame is hard to handle. “I can imagine he’s really struggling. Fame on that scale is a massive thing to come to terms with and to get your head around,” she said. “He probably needs some professional help to learn how to deal with it, that’s what I did.”

Mel C went on to suggest that Malik might find some solace in taking a step back from Hollywood in order to “get his head straight.”

Mel C drew from her own experience with the Spice Girls and shared how the fatigue and constant contact with an adoring public can truly get to someone. “The reality, as brilliant and exciting and amazing as it was, is there was a flip side: the exhaustion and the vulnerability and having to deal with people having an opinion of you,” she said.