Jane Fonda Gets Candid About Her Past Eating Disorder

The actress opened up about her battle with bulimia during an appearance on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast.

Jane Fonda detailed her struggle with disordered eating and her journey recovering from it for the first time on Wednesday.

While appearing on the Feb. 1 episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, the 85-year-old actress bravely detailed her battle with bulimia, an eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing followed by compensatory behaviors (such as self-induced vomiting) to undo the effects of binge eating.

In her 20s, Fonda "suffered from bulimia, very very bad," she revealed. "I led a secret life. I was very, very unhappy. I assumed I wouldn't live past 30."

While going into detail about her thought processes at the time, she stated, "It seems so innocent in the beginning, so innocuous—why can't I have this ice cream and cake, and then I'll just throw it up?" she remembered thinking. "What you don't realize is, it becomes a terrible addiction that takes over your life."

Related: Disordered Eating Comes In Many Forms—Here Are the Different Types, and the Signs to Look Out For

"It harms the way you look. You end up looking tired. It becomes impossible to have an authentic relationship when you're doing this secretly," the 80 For Brady actress continued. "Your day becomes organized around getting food and then eating it, which requires that you're by yourself, and that no one knows what you're doing."

"It's a very lonely thing," she added.

Fonda explained that the impact of her eating disorder got harsher as she got older, as it began to take "days and then at least a week to get over one single binge."

Once she was in her 40s, the Grace and Frankie alum finally told herself, "If I keep on like this, I'm going to die."

"I was living a very full life, I had children, I had a husband—I'd had two husbands by then—I was doing political work, I was doing all these things," she recalled. "And my life was important, but I was becoming less and less able to continue it."

She went on to say, "I didn't realize that there were groups you could join. I didn't know anything about that yet. And nobody talked about it. I didn't even know there was a word for it."

Since there weren't as many resources for those suffering from eating disorders at the time, Fonda went "cold turkey" when she decided to stop binging and purging, though she was put on Prozac to help with the anxiety.

Related: If You Know (Or Suspect) That Someone in Your Life Has an Eating Disorder, Here Are 17 Things You Should Never Say to Them

"It was really hard," she said. "But the fact is that the more distance you can put between you and the last binge, then the better it is. It becomes easier and easier."

She also provided hope that eating disorder recovery is possible and maintainable with the right resources.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, the National Eating Disorder Association has resources available, including a helpline that you can text or call at (800) 931-2237. If you are in a crisis and need help immediately, text “NEDA” to 741741 to be connected with a trained volunteer at Crisis Text Line, which provides free, 24/7 support.