Katy Perry has opened up about her experience with depression

In recent years, many celebrities have campaigned for mental health awareness and opened up about their own battles. Ryan Reynolds revealed that he suffers from intense anxiety, and Kesha has been open about her eating disorder recovery.

Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry have also spoken publicly about their experiences, and the royals spearheaded mental health initiative Heads Together.

Now, Katy Perry has spoken candidly about her battle with depression.

During an interview on The Howard Stern Show, Katy said she 'lost' her smile when she was criticised for her album, Witness, in 2017.

She said: 'I’ve always had a playful thing about my music and I lost that. I had really lost my smile. You create art and you’re excited for it to be received by the world... [And] when it’s not received by the world, when it’s kind of like, "No, thank you," you think, "Oh sh*t, that doesn’t feel good."

'It was more than I had ever faced in my life.'

Katy then spoke about her mental health and her experience with depression.

'I’d had bouts of depression before, but I had been able to avoid falling into the really dark depression by making music,' she said.

'It’s like all these things you do to distract: you eat, you work, you get a new boyfriend, you shop.'

The singer opened up about taking medication, admitting that at first she felt 'ashamed'.

She added: 'I was so ashamed about being on medication because I was like: "I wrote Firework." But it was one of those things where I’d sprained my brain a little bit.'

Talking about her relationship with Orlando Bloom, she continued: 'I showed him all of it and he still shows up and he's not phased by it. That's why he's perfect, because I'm a lot.'

The couple are expecting their first child together and are reportedly due to welcome their baby girl in the next few weeks.