--- description: Troian Bellisario knows firsthand what it feels like to have anorexia— and she’s imploring voters to elect Hillary Clinton. title: Troian Bellisario Opens Up About Anorexia in Voting PSA image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0242f936b395510/6988ad71bc6cfc892e3df3c0/troian-bellisario-anorexia-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Troian Bellisario Opens Up About Anorexia in Voting PSA by [Julie Mazziotta / People](/author/people/) ## Julie Mazziotta / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 8, 2016 2:23 PM CUT  HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 29: Actress Troian Bellisario arrives at the celebration for Freeform's "Pretty Little Liars" Final Season at Siren Studios on October 29, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage) HOLLYWOOD, CA - OCTOBER 29: Actress Troian Bellisario arrives at the celebration for Freeform's "Pretty Little Liars" Final Season at Siren Studios on October 29, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amanda Edwards/WireImage)Amanda Edwards—WireImage by [Julie Mazziotta / People](/author/people/) ## Julie Mazziotta / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 8, 2016 2:23 PM CUT [Troian Bellisario](http://people.com/celebrity/troian-bellisario-kicks-off-her-bachelorette-week-with-pll-cast/ "undefined") knows firsthand what it feels like to have a mental illness — [anorexia](http://people.com/tv/naya-rivera-abortion-anorexia-glee-stars-memoir-sorry-not-sorry/ "undefined")— and she’s imploring voters to elect [Hillary Clinton](http://people.com/tag/hillary-clinton/ "undefined") in a new PSA. The [_Pretty Little Liars_](http://people.com/tag/pretty-little-liars/ "undefined") star says she supports Clinton because of her work to improve the health care system, particularly for those suffering from mental illnesses. Bellisario opened up about her battle with anorexia [as a child](http://people.com/style/why-troian-bellisario-is-afraid-to-cut-her-hair/ "undefined"). “With anorexia, a lot of it is presenting a front of ‘everything is okay’ as you’re slowly killing yourself,” she says in the [voting PSA for ATTN](https://www.facebook.com/attn/videos/1181144318587692/ "undefined"). “Gone were the days when I was just a happy, carefree kid who was running around, and suddenly I felt this inability to interact with people and to nourish myself.” Bellisario [first shared](http://people.com/celebrity/troian-bellisario-self-harmed-to-create-order-in-my-world/ "undefined") that she [struggled with an eating disorder](http://people.com/bodies/zayn-malik-eating-disorder-one-direction/ "undefined") in 2014, but didn’t explicitly say it was anorexia. Now, Bellisario’s experience pushed her to campaign for Clinton. “\[Mental illness\] is a huge issue, and I am such a huge supporter of Mrs. Clinton for so many reasons. Specifically because she’s been such a huge advocate for health care,” she explains. “And her definition of health care includes mental health care. And that to me is just — it’s the deciding factor between both candidates.” Bellisario says that getting [treated for her anorexia](http://people.com/celebrity/celebrities-who-had-eating-disorders/zayn-malik "undefined") was life-changing. “If I had just been sort of shunned to the side as not having real problems, I don’t know that I would be living today,” she says. “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 our government invests in those programs.” “What matters is that we continue to make our voices heard in this great democracy, so please vote.” _This_ [_article_](http://people.com/bodies/troian-bellisario-anorexia-voting-psa/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://people.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4562363/troian-bellisario-anorexia-voting-psa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4562363/troian-bellisario-anorexia-voting-psa/"},"headline":"Troian Bellisario Opens Up About Anorexia in Voting PSA","datePublished":"2016-11-08T14:23:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:48.111Z","description":"'I just want to make sure that everybody has the same opportunity for treatment that I have'","url":"https://time.com/4562363/troian-bellisario-anorexia-voting-psa/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0242f936b395510/6988ad71bc6cfc892e3df3c0/troian-bellisario-anorexia-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julie Mazziotta / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc0242f936b395510/6988ad71bc6cfc892e3df3c0/troian-bellisario-anorexia-hillary-clinton.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Celebration For Freeform's \"Pretty Little Liars\" Final Season - Arrivals","caption":"Celebration For Freeform's \"Pretty Little Liars\" Final Season - Arrivals","creditText":"Amanda Edwards—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4562363/troian-bellisario-anorexia-voting-psa/","name":"Troian Bellisario Opens Up About Anorexia in Voting PSA"}}]}] ```