Florence Welch bravely opens up about battling an eating disorder and anxiety

Florence Welch has bravely opened up about her battle with anorexia when she was younger.

The 35-year-old singer has revealed the eating disorder made her think she didn't "deserve to eat" or to "feel comfortable."

Though Florence has overcome the condition, she has admitted the "anorexic thinking" lives on and clouds her thoughts in other areas of her life.

Speaking to Rolling Stones magazine, the Dog Days Are Over hitmaker said: "Anorexic thinking is still part of my life, even though the anorexia itself isn’t.

"And so, with emotional intimacy, which is kind of like being fed, sometimes you can be like, 'No, that’s too much, I don’t need it.'"

Florence has previously discussed her illness and the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on her, as she has shared there was a point during the two years she was the closes she had ever been to relapsing.

Speaking previously to British Vogue, she said: "I really empathise with anyone who did relapse in those two years because I think it was probably the closest I've ever thought about it.

'There were moments when I was like, 'Should I be starting to cut back on my sugar? Or should I do a cleanse?' And that for me is just a slippery slope."

Florence came through it, and has thanked her support network for helping her to avoid the disorder, and not to be "ashamed" about the thoughts either.

She shared: "Luckily, I have people I can talk to and that's one of the most important things for anyone – to keep talking about it. And not to be ashamed if those thoughts come up."

Florence has openly admitted to battling with anxiety, and had a panic attack prior to receiving her the Critic’s Choice award at the Brits in 2009.

Speaking in a separate interview with The Independent, she said: "I still have it. How I ‘deal’ with anxiety is that I go to work. So, I couldn’t even go to work during the pandemic because I’m not a home studio person. I go and make things and that really helps me process anxiety.”

Despite her struggles she feels her best yet, especially when it comes to her performances.

Florence - who is set to release her new album Dance Fever this week - said:"I feel at 35 that I’m finally at the best my performance can be. I really feel like I know what I’m doing. The performance wasn’t as honed [when Florence was younger]. I feel like now I have really worked on it.”