Ellie Goulding has said that she experienced “dark days” during her early years in the spotlight.
The pop star, 33, said she initially found the pressure of fame “quite tough” following the success of her debut single Under The Sheets in 2009.
Goulding has previously spoken about how she entered therapy in a bid to deal with anger issues, which she said had dissolved after her marriage to old Etonian Caspar Jopling last year.
Speaking on a panel about mental health in London, Goulding said she wished she had been offered more help as a young artist.
She told the Annie Mac Presents London Conference on Friday: “Initially there wasn’t much help. There wasn’t really anything to… It’s not like I could call up a bunch of artists and say: ‘Are you feeling this as well? Are you having those dark days?’
“I think my specific situation, I am quite a shy person.
“There is this misconception that because you are a performer you must walk into every room with jazz hands. But that’s not it at all.
“Initially when I was being thrust into a TV studio, or on the radio, full of cameras, I told myself that this is all normal – this is all fine, this is just what happens.
“But actually, it couldn’t have been anything less normal. It took me a few years to really try and unravel that and understand what it was doing to my mental health.”
Goulding said it had only been in the past four years she had realised she could change her situation.
She added: “I’m feeling good now. I think it is really important to acknowledge when you are feeling good.
“We should acknowledge the negative thoughts as well as the good ones.
“I can say with all honesty I am feeling good. But there have been times when I have been really, really, really low.”
Goulding urged the audience to read books and watch films instead of going on social media when they felt anxious, and credited running with keeping her mental health in check on tour.
She appeared on a panel titled A Call To Action: Taking Responsibility For Mental Health In The Music Industry, which also featured Maya Jama, Polydor Records co-president Ben Mortimer and Rizzle Kicks rapper Jordan Stephens.
Mortimer hinted he had signed Goulding up to appear at a charity boxing event prompted by the death of Caroline Flack, who took her own life last month aged 40.