Cheryl thought she was 'dying inside' during anxiety battle and struggled in silence

Cheryl has recalled how she 'struggled in silence' during her battle with anxiety.

The solo singer opened up to BBC Radio 1's Life Hacks series, recalling how she put on a brave face whenever she had to work.

"I would walk out to a wall of paparazzi and put on a smile but inside I was dying," she explained.

The 36-year-old mum to Bear, two, said that following the birth of her son her priorities changed and so she had began therapy so that she could focus on raising him.

Cheryl admitted that social media had become an issue and that those who are troll other are "angry and sad".

Cheryl has spoken about her battle with anxiety (@CherylOfficial/Twitter)

Cheryl explained: "I think I actually walked through the fire to be honest. I struggled for so long in silence, I wouldn't even open up to friends and family. I was very closed.

"I actually had therapy for a year. I struggled for so many years with anxiety and in my own head, thinking things…

"I didn't want that to be happening when I was trying to focus on raising a child. It felt like my responsibilities shifted and my priorities changed and I needed to be settled in my own head to be able to give him the best that I could possibly give him.”

The singer said she sometimes felt like she was "dying inside" whenever faced with paparazzi (Getty Images)

Cheryl, who has been notoriously private about her life, said she finally sought the help that she needed after living on andrenaline.

She said that the worst battle for her was dealing with online trolls.

"At one point during my teens and my twenties it was horrible. You can’t believe people think those things about you, you can’t believe people feel those things about you, you can’t believe people believe the things they read about you."

Cheryls said the worst eonline trolling she encountered was in her twenties (Getty Images)

She continued: "If someone has the time and the mental capacity to want to go on an article and write a sentence about somebody, you’ve got to be quite an angry sad person. They’re not okay.

"It’s more a reflection than it is a truth - it’s how they feel about themselves or how they perceive things to be. These people don’t know you. They have no idea about you as a person or what’s really going on. They can say they don’t like your shoes or they don’t like your hair - who cares?"

The singer, who shares son Bear with ex Liam Payne, said she took an extended break from work after giving birth.

The full interview can be heard on Radio 1’s Life Hacks on Sunday 7 July (4 – 6pm, Radio 1).