Lily Collins said opening up about her eating disorder is ‘scary but rewarding’.
The 36 year old Emily in Paris star revealed that her recovery from anorexia is an “ongoing process,” raising awareness that “no one has to struggle in silence or shame” in a recent Instagram post.
In the candid post, Lily shared a reflection on her journey with an eating disorder as part of an awareness campaign from the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA).
The Mirror Mirror star, who first opened up about her struggle after playing the role of a young woman suffering from the same disorder in the film To the Bone, released in 2017, began: “I just want to take a moment to recognize Eating Disorder Awareness Week.”
“I couldn’t handle the pain and confusion surrounding the divorce from my father, and I found it difficult to balance being a teenager and pursuing two different adult careers — both of which were of my own choosing, but which were also heavily focused on how I looked,” she noted of her acting and modeling careers.
Lily went on to say, “Eating was no longer a fun social event, but instead a chore and a punishment. I was exhausted, restless and bitchy all the time. It certainly wasn’t that fun. But my plan worked! I was in control! I was skinny!”
She further added about her role as a college student with aneroxia in her 2017 drama, writing, “As someone who has struggled with an eating disorder — and has been able to tell the story of so many others like me through my character in To The Bone — I have always advocated for more awareness and understanding around eating disorders so that no one has to struggle in silence or shame.”
“Recovery looks different for everyone and is an ongoing process, but through the help of organizations like NEDA and films like To The Bone, I have learned to connect with others who share similar experiences and feel less alone.”
Admitting that speaking out about her struggles was and is “one of the most terrifying yet rewarding” experiences, Lily concluded that if her story helped even one person, it would be “more than worth it.”
