Singer Jackie Evancho Opens Up About Eating Disorder and Mental Health Battle

Jackie Evancho is speaking out about her struggles with mental health.The 23-year-old singer took to Instagram Monday to share that her desire to be perfect led her to develop an eating disorder and anxiety amongst other things.«Growing up being told that in order to do the thing you love most, it must be perfection, you must look perfect, sound perfect, behave perfectly as a 10-year-old child, is a challenge.

Big challenge,» Evancho shared. «And it's created these deep pressures in me that I place on myself to this very day.»She added, «And I kind of believe it is partly causing my disordered eating, my anxieties and all those other things on the list.»Despite that, Evancho, who has been facing the pressures of the music industry since she was just a kid promised to «face it,» and did so in part by posting a song that she wrote last year that is the exact opposite of what she was preached to be: imperfect.Titled «Get Out of My Life,» Evancho said the track was recorded in the middle of the night using headphone microphones and an iPad, and while she sometimes sees herself as her harshest critic, she's learning that she doesn't need everybody to like her or what she sounds like.«As I've gotten older I've realized I don't need everybody's approval,» Evancho said. «I don't need everybody to like me or what I sound like.»«Recently I’ve discovered something that I had all along…my voice.

I want to take my power back, be bold when facing my past demons, and share what I learn through my music. Being imperfect is perfectly ok, and that’s exactly how this song came to be.