Demi Lovato is "proud" of Catherine Zeta-Jones for making her battle with depression public. The Welsh actress checked into the Silver Hill Hospital in Connecticut last week to be treated for Bipolar II disorder and the 18-year-old star – who left rehab in January after almost three months of treatment for an eating disorder – has praised the brunette beauty for raising awareness of mental disorders.

She wrote on her twitter account: "I don't know Catherine Zeta-Jones personally but what she has decided to do it SO brave.. And SO difficult but worth it... I'm proud of her (sic)."

She later retweeted a post by a fan of the two actresses expressing admiration for their "honesty" in not attempting to hide their illnesses.

The admirer wrote: "I love that @ddlovato & C-Z Jones are so brave & honest. It's time to stop treating mental & behavioral diseases like they're shameful. (sic)"

Catherine, 41, checked into the centre for five days to get help for her illness, which was believed to have been triggered by the stress of her husband Michael Douglas – with whom she has two children, Dylan, 10, and Carys, 7 - battling throat cancer.

Her representative said: "After dealing with the stress of the past year, Catherine made the decision to check in to a mental health facility for a brief stay."

Meanwhile, Demi recently opened up about her own personal demons and says she is not ashamed that she had to seek professional help to overcome them.

The 'Sonny With a Chance’ star said: "Never be ashamed of what you feel. You have the right to feel any emotion that you want, and to do what makes you happy. That's my life motto."