Similar to her "Pretty Little Liars" character Spencer Hastings, actress Troian Bellisario has strived for perfection from a young age but it quickly lead to her down fall.

According to E! News, the 28-year-old Los Angeles native shared some details with the February 2014 issue of Seventeen magazine about her stressful upbringing that lead to self destruction.

She explained, "I was the youngest daughter, the perfect little girl. My school was a very intense college prep school. So it was about wanting to please my father and mother and wanting to be perfect to everybody.

"I just thought if I ever expressed to [my parents] any sadness or anger or anything that's going on with me, they would disown me. I kept a lot of it bottled up inside, and it turned into self-destructive behavior."

Bellisario admitted that she "started self-harming" during her junior year of high school. She confessed, "I would withhold food or withhold going out with my friends, based on how well I did that day in school.

She continued, "I didn't know what was right and what was wrong, so I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world. But it really backfired."

The actress' friends eventually found out about her struggle and got her the help she needed.

She said, "They got a hold of my journal and basically said, 'We don't trust you, and we're gonna tell your parents.' That was when my world kind of exploded. It was kind of like an intervention."

Now that she has moved on from her eating disorder Troian Bellisario admits that each day is still difficult for her. She revealed, "Honestly, it's an ongoing struggle. Especially for a woman on a show that has the word 'pretty' in it!

"Sometimes I feel like I'm trying too hard, like I don't belong. I just look around at Lucy, Shay and Ashley and I'm just like, 'Why am I on this show?' Sometimes I've felt like a fraud.

"Like, I'm not like these other girls-I don't dress like that and I don't know how to do my hair. The minute I'm off that stage, I try to get as 'me' as possible. I do that by piling on my black eyeliner, and I put on my ripped tights. Dressing like myself again helps."

Her costars had nothing but praise for her courage to share her story. Ashley Benson took to Twitter to write, "Wow babe @SleepintheGardn you inspire me. Your @seventeenmag article is amazing. Not to mention you look amazing on the cover. Congrats."

Later on Shay Mitchell posted a photo of the Bellsario's cover to her Instagram account with the caption, " So proud of my friend/ costar/ older sister @sleepinthegardn 's @seventeenmag cover and inspiring story.

"You are brave, intelligent and beyond talented. I am so excited to be seeing your face on newsstands everywhere!"

Meanwhile Lucy Hale called her costar "inspiring" for sharing her story an expressed that she was "Proud of her for speaking up!"

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