Zayn Malik speaks out in detail about his life after 1D-eparture, how he’s overcome hardships after he quit One Direction and broke it off with ex-fiancΓ©e, Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards.

The 22-year-old singer explains to Billboard magazine, the cover of which he poses for this week, that he spends his time in the studio when he’s upset or feels depressed,Β β€œThat’s because I’m enjoying what I’m doing. I’m not censoring myself anymore, so I’m not tired. I love it.”

Back in November 2014, Zayn cried onstage while performing in Hong Kong. He soon left One Direction’s tour due to β€œstress” and the romantic rut his engagement with long-time girlfriend Perrie Edwards had hit. In March 2015, his representative officially announced his departure. At the time Zayn knew just what to do to release his stress – he went home:Β β€œI seen [sic] my mum, who cooked me some great food. I ate for three weeks because I’d lost so much weight in the band. I seen my sisters and put my dad’s sheepskin on – I walked around and everyone thought I was him. Nobody bothered me. It was good for my soul to be back in Bradford.”

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The months that followed was when Zayn went miss-in-action for a while. Finally, though, he’s breaking the silence to say he’s found himself a new beginning and learned much more about himself:Β β€œI’m incredibly disciplined. I realized I can push myself through situations I might not necessarily want to do, but can overcome by being in the moment. No matter what, I can smile and do whatever I got to do.”

Now Zayn is working hard on his solo album, which is due for an early 2016 release.

Read the full interviewΒ here.