Jameela Jamil of The Good Place frequently uses her platform to speak out about important issues like abortion and body image, and in a candid interview with People on Thursday (August 1), she opened up about continuing to struggle with body dysmorphia, the strategies she’s developed to deal with it, and how being lonely as a teen contributed to disordered eating .
According to People, Jamil developed anorexia and body dysmorphia after having to step on a scale in front of her class at 14. “I was really unhappy and I think it contributed to my ability to have an eating disorder for so long, because there was no one kind of monitoring me and I had no one to turn to with my sadness and bad feelings, so I just had a really rough time as a teenager,” she told the magazine.
Jamil also spoke about how she deals with ongoing body dysmorphia, including by making I Weigh pages where she lists all the positive things about her life and herself that have nothing to do with how she looks or how much she weighs. She also has learned to avoid looking in the mirror, she said.
“The only time I look in the mirror is when I put on my eyeliner in the morning and when I take it off at night,” she told People. “I’m not interested in my appearance. I still suffer from body dysmorphia so it can be very distracting for me. Doing that has helped me concentrate on progressing and doing things that enrich my life, like watching my career grow and my relationships grow. That’s what gives me a wonderful sense of self.”
She’s also been investing in developing strong friendships—something that can be tricky not just as a teen, but as an adult.
“I’ve learned how to suck it up and make an effort and put myself on the line and ask people out for coffee,” she told People. “I’ve even officially asked people to be friends, just to make sure that everyone’s in agreement that there’s some sort of friendship forming. I started doing more things that I love and meeting more people via that, and I’ve found more people who had the same interests.”
“A friend is a witness to your life, which I think is something really beautiful and amazing and really shapes your bond with someone,” she continued. “We go through a lot as a woman or just generally as a human and having someone to share that with and having someone in your corner and tells you that you’re wrong when you doubt yourself is so unbelievable. I don’t think I would be the person that I am without my adult friendships and their love and support.”
