Sharing Experiences Quite Challenging
Talking openly about experiences with health can be quite challenging especially considering the existence of societal stigma. Nonetheless certain celebrities have started to break this barrier in years. One of them is Troian Bellisario, the well known actor from "Pretty Little Liars." Troian has been candid about her health journey, sharing her struggles with anxiety and an eating disorder to provide support and guidance to young fans who might be facing similar battles.
In a video Troian again opened up about her experiences while participating in the Child Mind Institutes #MyYoungerSelf campaign. During the clip she offers advice to herself on how to cope with and embrace various emotions. Whether they are happiness, sadness or pain. She emphasizes that it is entirely normal for someone to feel overwhelmingly sad on days or extremely angry on others. Moreover she assures that all these emotions are genuine, valid and unique, to each individual.
Message For Fan
Troian goes on to say; "Don't hide or suppress these feelings... You are a person; you possess sensitivity..."
There's no need to direct your frustrations towards yourself or cause yourself any harm because you are cherished; you deserve to be loved.
Troian has been quite vocal in the past about her battle with an eating disorder. Back in 2017 during the promotion of her film Feed she shared with Teen Vogue; "If you've gone through it you understand that when that inner voice speaks up it feels almost impossible to ignore. You're either trying to avoid its consequences or evade the pain that comes from disregarding it. People who haven't experienced an eating disorder need to comprehend why someone would be compelled to follow its commands." In an essay for Lenny Letter she went on to explain how this voice continues to accompany her every day even though her own eating disorder has lessened over time with support and maturity.
Towards the end of the video Troian concludes by saying, "You will grow and go through experiences and I want you to know that I'm genuinely proud of you " serving as a reminder that we are all seen, valued and loved.
Eating Disorder
Bellisario also bravely shared her struggles with an eating disorder.
"My mind completely convinced me that surviving on 300 calories per day was enough. At one point it even suggested that even such a small amount was excessive. That part of my mind is my illness; there was a period when it had control over me.""It nearly took my life. Even though I've been in recovery, for a decade now it continues to find sneaky ways to hinder me to this very day."
However towards the end of the essay the actress offers her audience a glimmer of hope even if her circumstances turned out more positively than most.Bellisario acknowledges that she managed to survive which is quite rare.. In light of that she expresses her desire not to endure that phase of her life but to rebel against it by creating something meaningful.
When Bellisario embarked on the creation of Feed she recounts how writing, producing and acting in it provided her with a layer of separation, from her illness. She believes this is a process in her journey towards recovery. Her deepest aspiration is that someone who watches Feed and grapples with challenges might ponder the possibility; "What if I too am enough?" With all the courage she can summon Bellisario shares this work, in the hope that it will make that one person feel truly deserving and sufficient.