The actress, 32, recalled “not being able to accept the way that I looked” at the time

NEED TO KNOW

• Camila Mendes revealed her struggles with an eating disorder and panic attacks while filming the first season of Riverdale
• She said perfectionism and wearing outfits outside of her norm made her feel insecure and contributed to her mental health challenges
• Mendes shared that she lacked time to process emotions, which sometimes triggered panic attacks during her time on set

Camila Mendes is reflecting on struggling with an eating disorder and panic attacks while starring in Riverdale.

The 32-year-old actress appeared on the latest episode of the On Purpose with Jay Shetty podcast and opened up about how perfectionism was at the root of her mental health struggles.

“My perfectionism came up a lot,” she shared. “I needed to be on all the time and at my best and looking my best.” 

Mendes explained that she suffered from an eating disorder during season one of Riverdale. While she’d been facing those issues since high school, they got worse under the stress of filming the show.

“That’s when I really started to come face to face with it,” she said. “And I felt a lack of control because I’m wearing a costume for a character that dresses differently than I would want to dress in my daily life. She’s wearing tight dresses and mini skirts and heels and showing my stomach, my little midriff or whatever. And if I felt bloated or if I didn’t feel good about myself that day, I had to wear something that made me feel worse and made me feel super insecure. And that perfectionism pattern showed up a lot through my relationship with my body.” 

“I would sometimes have panic attacks about that,” she continued. “Of feeling so disgusting and needing to be on camera and just not being able to accept the way that I looked.”

Host Jay Shetty said he understands how heavy that must’ve been to experience. Mendes admitted that it became really difficult because she didn’t have the space to actually feel and process what she was going through. 

“I’m somebody who doesn’t experience a panic attack coming because I only have the panic attack if I feel for whatever reason that I’m not allowed to feel the emotion that I’m feeling freely,” she explained. “So, if I’m feeling like I want to cry and I know that I can’t, that will cause my panic attack.” 

“But if I did have the space, if I was told, ‘You have an hour.’ I’d be like, ‘Great. I’m going to cry for a bit. Let it out. I’ll be good to go in an hour.’ But you don’t have that,” the actress said. “I have no issue just crying it out for a bit, letting it out because sometimes that’s all it is. You just need to release the energy.”

Despite her struggles, Mendes said she still appreciates the time she spent on Riverdale. She starred as Veronica on the CW show for all seven seasons, which ran from 2017 to 2023. 

“Not every day was like that,” she insisted. “I did love my experience on the show, don’t get me wrong. I look back on that time very fondly. It was just being young and not having control over your schedule in your life. That was really hard.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, The Alliance for Eating Disorders provides a fully-staffed helpline at 1-866-662-1235, as well as free, therapist-led support groups.

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