Kelsea Ballerini is opening up about her struggles in her teenage years in her new poetry book, Feel Your Way Through,  The 28-year-old country singer revealed that she had struggled with an eating disorder when she was a teenager, saying, “My parents had just gotten divorced, and I think for me, it was a source of control.”  The singer revealed that up until the age of 18 she had battled bulimia, took several diet pills, and worked out excessively until she sought help after passing out numerous times, noting, “It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending.”

While Ballerini says she is in a better mindset now, she revealed that she still struggles with body image issues at times, saying, “There are still days when I revert back to being that 12-year-old, and I have to catch myself, and hold myself accountable to the work I’ve done. I’ve re-calibrated what it means to me to just look in the mirror and just be like, ‘Man, I’m healthy. I’m strong. I have good breath support to do my job well.’ Those are things that matter to me now, rather than: ‘I look skinny in a dress.’”

The country singer hopes to shed light on the issue and help those who have struggled with it in the past:  It took me some time to feel bold enough and confident enough to share my true self. When you’re able to talk about things, you either are going to feel shame about it and you’re going to keep it hidden, or you’re going to air it out and be vulnerable and connect with people and take the sting away from it and heal together. And I think that’s just the better option for me at this point in my life. So that’s why I air out a couple of my dark secrets in this book.”

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