Lili Reinhart Opened Up About Her Struggling Relationship with Her Body

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Lili Reinhart has been open about her evolving relationship with her body for years. But the Riverdale star just got even more candid, revealing that she's been "struggling with obsessive thoughts" about her body and weight lately.

In a series of Instagram Stories, Reinhart, 25, recently shared intimate details about what she's been going through, reflecting on how "challenging" it can be "to look at your body with love instead of criticism."

"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," she began. "So, I want to take a moment to be vulnerable and share this in hope that any of you who are also struggling don't feel so alone. I'm here with you." (ICYMI, Bebe Rexha got real about her troubles with body image on social media, too.)

Acknowledging that self-love is much easier said than done, Reinhart wrote, "It's challenging to look at your body with love instead of criticism. It's a practice I'm still learning. I didn't think being in this industry, that is so obsessed with women's 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."

She continued by sharing, "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 am 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 betrayed me by changing." (Related: Lizzo Celebrates Her Weight Gain: 'I Look TF GOODT')

Opening up about some of the specific behaviors she's been battling she added, "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. It's painful to think hundreds of millions are concerned with what our bodies look like. That's an incredibly broken system. Somewhere along the line, humanity really f*cked 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," she concluded. "Let's continue to talk about it. Normalize it. Empathize with others. Show compassion and kindness." (Related: This Woman Perfectly Explained the Difference Between Self-Love and Body Positivity)

Ever since landing her breakout role on Riverdale, Reinhart has been a vocal advocate for mental health, revealing that she attends therapy for anxiety and depression, and also experiences body dysmorphia. Back in 2018, she spoke about it at the Glamour Women of the Year Summit, sharing that she'd become hyper-vigilant about her body after becoming famous and dealing with pregnancy rumors and Hollywood's narrow beauty ideals. She began obsessively examining her body and fixating on what she'd deemed as "flaws" — a hallmark sign of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a mental health condition characterized by constant intrusive thoughts about your appearance.

And even though it's surely not easy for those like Reinhart struggling with these feelings to speak about them, putting the thoughts out into the universe — whether by talking with a therapist, chatting with a trusted loved one, or sharing on social media à la Reihart — is one of the best ways to help manage mental health conditions, including anxiety, depression, and BDD. In fact, the International OCD Foundation calls cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) — a treatment methodology in which specific thought and behavior patterns are identified and challenged — is the gold standard for BDD, along with certain mental health medications. (Related: Lili Reinhart Made an Important Point About Body Dysmorphia)

A 2017 study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology even found that posting online can be easier for some people than sharing one-on-one. "When people feel badly, they have a need to reach out to others because this can help reduce negative emotions and restore a sense of well-being," said Eva Buechel Ph.D., a professor at the University of South Carolina, in a press release. "But talking to someone face-to-face or on the phone might feel daunting because people may worry that they are bothering them. Sharing a status update on Facebook or tweet on Twitter allows people to reach out to a large audience in a more undirected manner."

Either way, Reinhart's fans appear to be grateful for her honest admissions. Sharing screenshots of her Instagram Stories, one Twitter user wrote, "Honestly, I'm just like you right now struggling with my body, I do it every day and it's hard." Another user shared, "the stories of @lilireinhart make me think a lot and help me free myself from guilt that I have on my body!" Yet another said, "the feeling of not feeling at home with your own body because of extremist standards that society imposes, especially for women, is horrible and no one deserves to feel that. it's so nice to see a person with such high visibility and engagement, like lili talking about it." (When you're really in your feels about your body, you can do these things right now to feel a bit better.)