6 celebrities who have overcome eating disorders

There is huge pressure on celebrities to look a certain way – and even more so with the stratospheric rise of social media.

Many subsequently suffer with body issues, and it's no surprise some develop eating disorders.

But a lot of them have overcome their eating disorders, come out the other side and opened up about their experiences to help other people realise they can beat such a tough illness.

Here are 10 celebrities who have conquered an eating disorder...

Demi LovatoThe pop sensation suffered with bulimia for many years before seeking help. She has now recovered and says she is now at her most confident, happy and healthy. "I have come a long way mentally, emotionally, and physically, and I'm proud of where I am today," she said recently. "When I was younger, I thought I had to look like everyone else, but I learned that beauty comes from how you feel about yourself. "Once I started taking care of my mind, body, and soul, I realised that I didn't need to conform to what's 'normal' and started to love myself."

Portia de RossiEllen DeGeneres' wife Portia described her decades-long battle with eating disorders as an "excruciating" experience that drove her to starve herself and at time, limit her calorie intake to only 300 per day.

But eventually, Portia sought help and started the long road to recovery. Now, the actress says that when she looks in the mirror, she knows she's not perfect, but that's perfectly fine with her. "My message is all about self-acceptance and being comfortable in your own skin," she said on Good Morning America in 2014. "I think that it's important to not be so concerned about how you look. As women, it's really important to be focused on things other than what it is on the plate in front of you and get on with your life and develop your mind and career and not be so obsessed with how you look and what you weigh."

Zosia MametGirls star Zosia Mamet recently revealed that she has battled an eating disorder since she was a child. "This struggle has been mostly a private one, a war nobody knew was raging inside me," she told Glamour. "I tried to fight it alone for a long time. And I nearly died. You want to control something, and then society says, ‘Hey, how about controlling the way you look? Skinny is beautiful,'" she added. "Your obsession feels justified." But today, the actress is at a healthy weight and considers herself "an addict in recovery … I realize that my obsession will always be with me." She also encourages others to speak openly about eating disorders. "Let's diminish the stigma," she writes. "Let's remind one another that we're beautiful."

KeshaIn early 2014, Kesha checked herself into rehab to seek help for her eating disorder.

The popstar that she took negative comments to heart and began to starve herself. "I started to think being hungry to the point of feeling almost faint was a positive thing. The worse it got, the more positive feedback I was getting," she recalled.

But Kesha soon realised that what she was doing was seriously damaging. "I called my mum one night and I told her, 'I need help',". "I went to an eating-disorder specific rehab site where a nutritionist taught me that food is a positive thing for your body. I realised that being healthy is the most important thing I can do for myself. Now, I'm trying to embrace the skin I'm in."

Lady GagaPopstar Lady Gaga has admitted to suffering from bulimia and anorexia since she was fifteen.

But back in 2014, she told Harper's Bazaar that she was recovered from the illness: "I don't have an eating disorder anymore, I am better with food."

Troian BellisarioThe Pretty Little Liars star has been very open about her battle with anorexia as a teenager.

Striving for perfection, Troian found herself in the grip of the debilitating eating disorder. But she managed to recover with help from her friends. "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 of exploded," she told Seventeen magazine. "It made me ask myself, 'What do I really want to be doing? What would make me happy?'"