#Lili Reinhart Opens Up About Struggling With ‘Severe’ Body Image Issues

The 25-year-old actress has long been an outspoken advocate of mental health over the years, using her social media platforms to talk about her anxiety, depression, physical insecurities, and how she manages them. And recently, Reinhart opened up about having “obsessive” thoughts about her body lately and the toll it has been taking on her mental health in a series of vulnerable messages posted to Instagram Stories. She began:

“I’ve been struggling with obsessive thoughts about my body/weight the last few months and it’s gotten pretty severe in the last week. So I want to take a moment to be vulnerable and share this in the hope that any of you who are also struggling don’t feel so alone. I’m here with you. It’s challenging to look at your body with love instead of criticism. It’s a practice I’m still learning.”

Related: Cardi B Reveals She Felt ‘Extremely Suicidal’ In Shocking Testimony During YouTuber Libel Trial

The Riverdale star then admitted that the unrealistic and toxic beauty standards within the entertainment industry have caused her to change the way she views her own body, saying:

“I didn’t think being in this industry, that is so obsessed with womens’ [sic] bodies and weights, could ever mess with my own body acceptance and positivity … but it has. I wish I hadn’t grown up in a time where the media worshipped only one size of women.”

While acknowledging the physical and emotional battles her body has faced, she expressed to her followers that she is working on being less critical of herself:

“My body has carried me through 25 years of life. All my scars, tears, trauma … I wish I could love it more, even when it doesn’t look like it did when I was 20. But I’m trying. I know my body deserves equal love and admiration at any size. To not feel at home in my own skin is a devastating feeling. As if my body has betrayed me by changing. I’ve looked in the mirror and pulled my skin back tight to see what I *should* look like. What I’m expected to look like … in an industry where you’re ~inconvenient~ when not a sample size.”

After sharing a picture of an ancient Greek statue of Aphrodite as an example of how women’s bodies have changed in the media through the years, Reinhart ended her message by recognizing how she is not alone in feeling insecure and that it’s a “heartbreaking” reality:

“It’s painful to think hundreds of millions of us are so concerned with what our bodies look like. That’s an incredibly broken system. Somewhere along the line, humanity really f**ked this one up. I know I’m not alone in this toxic way of thinking about my body. And it’s heartbreaking that this feeling is understood by so many of us. Let’s continue to talk about it. Normalize it. Empathize with others. Show compassion and kindness.”

Well said. As always, we appreciate Lili’s raw honesty and willingness to have important conversations about body image.

[Image via MEGA/WENN]