Written by . Published: July 18 2017

In her letter, published by Lena Dunham's Lenny Letter blog, Bellisario reveals her issues peaked when she started shooting Pretty Little Liars at the age of 24, and faced daily anxiety about her performance.


"There is a part of my brain that defies logic," she writes. "Once, it completely convinced me I should live off 300 calories a day, and at some point, it told me even that was too much.

"That part of my brain is my disease, and there was a time when it had absolute authority over me. It almost killed me, and you can see that even though I have lived in recovery for ten years now, it still finds loads of fun, insidious ways to thwart me to this day.

"It was a difficult journey finding my way back to health. Through hard introspection, intense medical and mental care, a supportive family, friends, and a patient and loving partner, I survived, which is rare."

Troian, who is married to actor Patrick J. Adams, adds the voice convinces her it has the star's best interests at heart: "It cares if I demand things of a production, it cares if I quit early, if I fail. It is a voice I know intimately; it is my greatest and best of enemies. I know what that voice will say if I stop. I know the trouble I’ll be in."

Writing and starring in her semi-autobiographical movie Feed helped the actress silence her inner voice, and now she hopes the movie, which also features Harry Potter star Tom Felton, will help others with similar issues: "So with all the courage I can muster, I give it to you, I give it to that one person, in hopes that it could make them feel enough," she concludes her letter.