Life in the public eye -- especially because of the pressure to conform to certain ideas of beauty -- can be a struggle. In a recent interview, Lauren Alaina reveals that she battled with bulimia  "for a few years," and she wants fans going through similar trials to know they're not alone.

Alaina, now 21, says that she was in her late teens, during the height of her struggle -- meaning, yes, she was fighting bulimia during and after her time on American Idol (she was Season 10's runner-up in 2011).

"I just desperately wanted to be thin. That's all I thought,” Alaina tells Motto. “I was obsessed with it, which it was ridiculous because I had everything going for me. I was following my dream. Everything I wanted at the time, I was getting. But I was obsessed with this other thing that was making me unhappy.”

Fortunately, Alaina's mother was there to help her daughter see just how beautiful she really is.

"My mom made me look in the mirror every day and say three things that I loved about myself,” Alaina explains. “At first, I couldn’t name anything. It was so sad. When my mom made me do that, I looked in the mirror, and I literally couldn’t name one thing that I loved about myself.”

These days, Alaina finds it easier to praise herself. In the interview, she notes a trait fans have likely noticed themselves -- her "funny and outgoing" personality -- as well as something they probably haven't: her eyelashes.

"I try to remind myself of the things that I like about myself that make me who I am," Alaina says.

By publicly discussing her own trials, Alaina hopes to inspire and encourage those dealing with similar problems.

"A lot of my fans are young women that are my age. We’re all going through the same problems at the same time," Alaina notes, "so I just tried to be really honest with that.”

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