'Pretty Little Liars' Star Opens Up About Self-Harming Past

Jan. 7, 2014 — -- Troian Bellisario is opening up about her troubled past. The "Pretty Little Liars" star, 28, revealed the struggles she had in high school, including suppressing food and cutting herself.

Bellisario spoke to "Good Morning America" for a segment that aired this morning and said while trying to fit in as a teenager, things "went down a very, very dangerous path and I honestly believe I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for a number of incredible people, friends and family."

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The actress added that her family staged an intervention after they read her journal.

"For the first time, I got to sit across from my parents and say, 'I'm angry at you and I have a blackness inside of me and a darkness inside of me ... I can't handle this,'" she said.

These revelations from the actress started after she told Seventeen magazine exactly how she would handle life as a troubled teen in high school.

Here's more from the Seventeen interview:

"I started self-harming when I was a junior. I would withhold food or withhold going out with my friends, based on how well I did that day in school," she told Seventeen for its latest issue, on stands today.

Bellisario, who plays Spencer on the popular show, added that she "didn't know what was right and what was wrong."

"So, I think I created this bizarre system of checks and balances to create order in my world," she explained. "But it really backfired."

It's not just in the past where Bellisario felt inadequate; it's something she still feels today, especially with her acting.

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"Sometimes I feel like I'm trying too hard, like I don't belong," she said. "I just look around at Lucy [Hale], Shay [Mitchell], and Ashley [Benson], and I'm just like, Why am I on this show? Sometimes I've felt like a fraud. Like, I'm not like these other girls – I don't dress like that and don't know how to do my hair."

But when she is off set, the Los Angeles native has a routine that brings her some solace.

"The minute I'm off that stage, I try to get as 'me' as possible," she added. "I do that by piling on my black eyeliner, and I put on my ripped tights. Dressing like myself again helps."

And of course, she can always turn to those closest to her.

"My friends and my family – the people who I love and who love me back. Whenever I get down, when I want to crawl under a rock, I just look around at them and I see how rich my life is," she said.

"Pretty Little Liars" is seen on ABC Family.