Alyson Stoner About her Eating Disorders: Anxiety In The Spotlight

Alyson Stoner About her Eating Disorders:  Alyson Stoner reveals for the first time how her childhood renown has affected her adult life. After gaining prominence as the pig-tailed dancing child in Missy Elliot’s “Work It” music video at the age of nine, she went on to feature in films such as Cheaper by the Dozen, Step Up, and the Disney Channel original Camp Rock.

Stoner was considered a veteran of the entertainment industry by the time she was in her early teens, but fame and relentless labor took a toll on her mental and physical health.

Stoner, 25 years old, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, “As a child, I learned to create fire out of fumes. It was all I ever knew.”

Stoner began enduring health issues due to her high-stress environment in the industry when she was just 6 years old, including acute anxiety that led to heart palpitations, hair loss, and seizures. She also claims to have had trust issues, trouble connecting with her peers, and an intense dread of failing.

The pressure to be perfect led to anorexia nervosa, exercise bulimia, and binge-eating disorder.

Some people compliment me on maybe not acting out in ways that they see other child stars acting out,” she explains. “I was acting out, but I chose vices that were both societally acceptable and praiseworthy.”

Stoner asserts that she was once so emaciated that casting directors refused to let her even read lines during auditions.

“They would just tell me that I need help and [need] to go home and take care of my health because my eyes were sunken in and I was tired and lifeless,” she explains. “The scary part is I wasn’t even the smallest person on set.”

In 2011, Stoner was hospitalized and committed to rehab to further treat her eating habits. She was 17 and only a few months away from turning 18 years old.

“I had actually wanted to get help for some time, and my schedule didn’t allow for it,” she says. “So I had already needed hospitalization, but I had to complete projects. The second that I finished the contract, I told my family that I was going. They knew. Everyone around knew.”

During therapy, she was diagnosed with her eating disorder, as well as generalized anxiety disorder, OCD tendencies, and alexithymia, an emotional awareness disturbance typically associated with PTSD.

She explains, “I chose to keep the process private in order to put legitimate healing first,” she explains. “Before treatment, the dietician estimated my caloric intake to be less than 700 calories with an average of two to eight hours of intense exercise a day. I have entire journals breaking down the grams of polyunsaturated fat and added sugar in every bite I ate.”

“I still have my hospital gown, binder and letters from other patients tucked in a drawer as a reminder of one of the best choices I’ve made for my health,” she says.

When Stoner completed her treatment, she asked herself, “How much of my health am I willing to sacrifice for my job?”

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“That’s sort of the beginning of the transition to digital,” she continues. “It further cemented the need for me to take control of my story and career.”

Stoner’s first step was to open up about her sexuality in a Teen Vogue article in 2018. “I, Alyson, am attracted to men, women, and people who identify in other ways,” she wrote.

She is now releasing music independently. Stoner shaves her skull as she confronts her past in the music video for the song, which was released on Wednesday.

“Shaving my head is an act of mental health and confidence, not self-destruction,” she explains. “I can’t tell you how many beliefs and opinions and insecurities fell to the floor with every tuft of hair, and I’m leaving them there. I’m shedding one era and rising as a new being in real-time.”

Stoner now finds pleasure in living a modest lifestyle. She sold her home and now resides in a modest studio apartment, donning only hand-me-downs, purchasing her food at the local farmer’s market, and lacking a television or Netflix subscription.

After five years of balanced dining, Stoner has adopted a plant-based diet in accordance with her personal convictions. She does not own a scale and is now concentrating on holistic health from the inside out.

Even though she claims to be on the verge of leaving the entertainment industry “every week,” her passion for the art and the community she has created with millions of fans keep luring her back.

“I still have so many stories to share,” she says. “Anything I can do to bridge the gap between perspectives and help people learn the same positive things that I’ve learned is a privilege and I don’t take it lightly.”

Stoner desires for everyone to know that her new song, “Stripped Bare,” is an anthem and the beginning of everything to come.

“I just want [fans] to soak in it and find themselves in this story and use it as a weapon for their own good,” she says. “I want them to know that I’m really grateful for their support and I just hold our conversations so precious and so near to my heart. Please continue sharing your stories with me. I want us to be able to grow together and make a real impact together.”

“I really believe that the next 10 years are going to be much better than the last ten years,” she continues.