Actress Troian Bellisario Talks Living with Anorexia 

Actress Troian Bellisario Talks Living With Anorexia

The 'Pretty Little Liars' star delved into her past with anorexia for the first time.

actress Troian Bellisario shared some brutally honest details about her experiences with anorexia. The 31-year-old, who plays Spencer Hastings on the show, opened up about her struggles to

magazine in January 2014. At the time, she told the magazine that when she was a junior in high school, she "would withhold food or withhold going out with my friends, based on how well I did that day in school." Bellisario explained, "I didn't know what was right and what was wrong, so I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world. But it really backfired." Now, she's delving deeper into her past for the first time.

voicing her support for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. In the clip, Bellisario shares that she supports Clinton because of the candidate's advocacy

"With anorexia, a lot of it is about presenting a front of everything is OK, as you're slowly killing yourself," Bellisario said in the video. "Gone were the days where I was just a happy, carefree kid running around, and suddenly I felt this inability to interact with people and to nourish myself." Bellisario went on to express how grateful she is that she was able to

, and that her need for care was taken seriously by those around her. "If I had just been shunned to the side as not having 'real problems,' I don't know that I would be living today," she said. "I just want to make sure that everybody has the same opportunity for treatment that I have, and I think that we have to make sure that our government invests in those programs."

experience from some form of mental illness in a given year (anorexia is

a mental health condition by doctors). Numbers as staggering as these demand access to comprehensive treatment for anyone who needs it. Props to Bellisario for shedding light on such an important issue. Take a look at her emotional video below.

(NEDA) website or contact the NEDA Information and Referral Helpline at 1-800-931-2237.

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