Lady GaGa has spoken about the creation of her Born This Way foundation in a new interview, saying that she wants to reach out and help young people who are suffering from depression and anxiety as she did when she was a teenager.

Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Germanotta, set up the non-profit organisation back in 2012 with the help of her mother Cynthia. The 29 year old appears on the front cover of the new issue of Billboard alongside Sir Elton John, and in the feature interview she opened up about her struggles with depression.

Lady GagaLady Gaga reveals she suffers from anxiety and depression

“I’ve suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life, I still suffer with it every single day,” the star shared. “I just want these kids to know that the depth they feel as human beings is normal. We were born that way.”

She believes that the increasing prevalence of social media is connected to such negative feelings among a new generation of teenagers. “This modern thing, where everyone is feeling shallow and less connected? It's not human,” she said. “Depression and anxiety really link them.”

More: Lady Gaga waxes lyrical about her ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’ role

“There is something in the way that we are now, with our cell phones and people are not looking at each other and not being in the moment with each other, that kids feel isolated,” Gaga explained. “They read all of this extremely hateful language on the internet. The internet is a toilet. It is. It used to be a fantastic resource - but you have to sort through s*** to find the good stuff.”

Gaga, who is currently lapping up the plaudits for her current TV role in the new series of ‘American Horror Story: Hotel’, also had words of praise for one of her heroes, her co-cover star Elton John. “He inspires me in ways I could not even begin to list properly… …he doesn't allow me to slip into depression without making sure that I’m OK,” she said.

“Everything he has done for AIDS, everything he has done for the LGBT community. He's just everything - when I’m with him, I just want to help be a part of his genius plan to save the world.”

More: Lady Gaga releases a new music video ‘Til It Happens To You’ to raise awareness of sexual assault