Jane Fonda opens up her experience with body dysmorphia in her younger years

Jane Fonda is opening up about her experience with body dysmorphia during her younger years.

The 85-year-old actress, who became a fitness icon in the 1980s, said that she struggled with body image.

"Young me did not want to be an actor. I didn't think I had talent. I didn't think I was pretty enough. I had a lot of body dysmorphia," she told People in an interview. "I was pretty lost as a young person."

Body dysmorphia disorder (BDD) involves being preoccupied by thoughts of imagined defects with one's own appearance. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, it impacts about 1 in 50 people, equally affects men and women and often develops during adolescence.

Even if the "flaws" are minimal or nonexistent, people with body dysmorphia truly believe there is something wrong with the way they look.

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Marla W. Deibler, a licensed psychologist and executive director of The Center for Emotional Health of Greater Philadelphia, told USA TODAY in 2021 that many people with BDD are convinced of their negative self-perceptions, despite feedback to the contrary.

"BDD may be challenging to recognize in oneself, because insight into the inaccuracy of one’s misperception of their body is often poor," she said.

Some public figures, including "All The Boys I've Kissed Before" actress Lana Condor, have opened up about experiencing the disorder after realizing they went through it.

Fitness helped Fonda feel more in control, she revealed. She developed "Jane Fonda's Workout" in 1982, a videocassette that sold 17 million copies, per People. Fonda's workout, was based on a class led by fitness instructor Leni Cazden that helped Fonda cope as she recovered from bulimia.

It brought Fonda joy, too, to find her workout helped others as well. "So many women said to me, 'My whole attitude about myself changed,' " Fonda said. "That meant the world to me."

Fonda told People that now she keeps a healthy diet, works out three to four times a week and likes hiking. In her 80s, Fonda said she feels better in her own skin than she ever has before.

"Who am I? What am I supposed to do in life? All of that has been answered. I don't take anything for granted, and I'm just amazed that at my age, I'm still working and have a lot of energy," she said. "It's all a surprise to me."

She has a message for younger people: "Being young is really hard. Don't let anyone kid you," Fonda said. "I wish when I was younger, someone had said to me, 'Don't give up. Keep going. It'll get better.'"

Contributing: Jenna Ryu

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jane Fonda shares on experiencing body dysmorphia as a young celebrity