Troian Bellisario has shown in the past that she’s not afraid to share her opinions or beliefs, and this time, she’s getting even deeper: the Pretty Little Liars actress revealed in a voting PSA that she suffered from anorexia when she was younger. “With anorexia, a lot of it is about presenting a front of everything is okay, as you’re slowly killing yourself,” Bellisario said in the video.
The PSA addressed the importance of knowing the presidential candidates’ positions on mental healthcare. Bellisario shared that the healthcare available to her was what saved her from becoming even weaker from her disease. “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 these programs.”
Bellisario first touched upon her mental health struggles in a 2014 Seventeen interview, saying, “I started self-harming when I was a junior… I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world. But it really backfired.”
Kudos to Bellisario for speaking up about what’s important to her in this election. When you vote tomorrow, remember to keep the issues closest to you in mind.