Lily Allen has opened up about her mental health struggles as she admits she has stopped eating and is undergoing therapy following her move to New York
Lily Allen has candidly confessed she has started therapy as she is not in a great place mentally and has stopped eating.
The singer, 39, moved to New York with her husband David Harbour and her kids, Ethel Mary, 13, and Marnie Rose, 11. And she admits she has been taking part in therapy sessions since relocating. She revealed that since the move she has rarely been eating as she never feels hungry.
The star opened up on her podcast Miss Me? She was talking to her best friend Miquita Oliver when she made the revelation, saying it’s been an issue that’s been going on for a “few months”
Lily explained how her “eating has become an issue”. She said: “‘My therapist and I talk about it and she says “How long has this been going on?” And I said, “Well, about three years really.” And she’s like, “OK, why haven’t you mentioned it before?”
“And it’s not because I’m lying about it. It’s just because it’s not seemed at the top of the list of important things that I need to talk about, but obviously it is.”
She went on to confess she isn’t very good at talking about the bigger picture and said that comes as part of her ADHD diagnosis as she isn’t able to link things well.
“And also, my body and my brain are two very separate things to me,” she continued. “I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other, but for 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, and I’m not eating. I’m not hungry. I obviously am hungry, but my body and brain are so disconnected from each other that my body… the messages of hunger are not going through my body to my brain.”
Despite saying she is not hungry or eating, Lily said she is not “avoiding” food, she is just not thinking about it due to her thoughts.
Lily has often been open about her feelings. In April last year she also opened up about her diet, saying she sometimes forgets to eat due to looking after her kids. At the time, she told comedians Ed Gamble and James Acaster she “loves food” but her “stomach [often] goes quite long distances without eating” at times and she isn’t “very good at remembering to do things” like eating at regular intervals.
In 2011 she also revealed she was suffering from an eating disorder at the height of her pop star fame. She admitted that she was struggling to cope with life in the spotlight in a Channel 4 documentary at the time as she launched a clothes shop with her sister Sarah Owen. In one scene, she said: “There was a point last summer (2009) where I had an eating disorder, I used to vomit after meals.
“It is not something I am proud of. But I tell you what, a lot of people used to come up to me and tell me how great I looked. And I was on the cover of every magazine with them saying, ‘Lily is looking amazing – look 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. 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.”
For help and support on eating disorders contact Beat Eating Disorders on 0808 801 0677.
If you are struggling with mental health, you can speak to a trained advisor from Mind mental health charity on 0300 123 3393 or email [email protected]