Lily Allen Says Her 'Eating Has Become a Real Issue' amid Mental Health Struggles: 'I'm Not in a Great Place'
"I spend a lot of time in my head and not a lot of time thinking about my body," the singer says
Lily Allen revealed that her eating habits have been impacted due to her ongoing mental health struggles.
On the Dec. 16 episode of her BBC podcast Miss Me? with co-host Miquita Oliver, the 39-year-old British pop star opened up about having difficulty eating for the past three years, which she kept hidden from her therapist.
“I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months and my eating has become a real issue,” she said on the show.
The singer said her therapist asked why she never mentioned her problem after so long. Allen said she doesn’t necessarily lie in therapy, but she’s unintentionally leaving aspects of her life out during her sessions.
“It’s just because it hasn’t seemed at the top of the list of the important things that I need to talk about,” she said.
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Allen then questioned whether or not her ADHD, which she was diagnosed with in 2023, contributed to her omitting her food troubles during therapy.
“I don’t link a lot of things,” she admitted. “My body and my brain are two very separate things to me. I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other but with me, it’s very different. I spend a lot of time in my head and not a lot of time thinking about my body.”
“I’m really not in a great place mentally at the moment. I’m not eating but I’m not hungry — I obviously am hungry but my body and my brain are so disconnected from each other that the messages of hunger are not going from my body to my brain,” she explained. “I’m not avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it … my body is, like, a few steps behind me.”
Related: Lily Allen Recalls Getting Diarrhea Mid-Concert and Telling the Audience: 'It Would Just Not Stop'
Allen previously spoke about battling an eating disorder back in 2011. The singer told Channel 4 that she suffered from bulimia during a time when people were constantly praising her appearance.
“It’s not something I am proud of,” she said at the time. “But I tell you what, a lot of people used to come up to me and tell me how great I looked. I was on the cover of every magazine with them saying, ‘Lily is looking amazing. Look at how much weight she has lost.’ I thought I looked good.”
“It was great to try on clothes and walk out of the shop feeling a million dollars. When you have been a victim of people saying the complete opposite, you want more of it,” she continued. “But I wasn’t happy, I really wasn’t. I would like to be the skinniest, mini-est person in the world. But I know I can’t do that without being unhappy. I like my food.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, please go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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