Lily Allen has reflected on her recent stint in a mental health treatment centre.

Back in January, the award-winning singer-songwriter announced that she would be taking time out from work commitments, including her hit BBC podcast Miss Me?, to focus on improving her mental health.

“I’m really not in a good place,” she disclosed at the time. “I know I’ve been talking about it for months, but I’ve been spiralling and spiralling and spiralling, and it’s got out of control.”

This week, Lily returned to Miss Me?, where she opened up to her friend and co-host Miquita Oliver about what led to her seeking help.

“I absolutely adore my children and I’m in a situation now where I really have to be my strongest self for them,” she said of her two daughters, 13-year-old Ethel and 11-year-old Marnie.

She continued (as reported by the Daily Mail): “I felt like it was getting harder and harder for me to be able to show up for them in the way that they need me to.

“It was a big decision to have to leave them for a few weeks to go and focus on myself, but ultimately it was for them so that I can get us through this bit. I needed some help to be able to do that. I don’t want them to ever feel like they have to prop me up.

“None of this is their fault and it’s my job to support them and make them feel safe and secure. And I just don’t think I was able to do that because of the emotional turmoil that I was in at the time. But I do feel like I am now… I’m not saying that I’m 100% there or getting it 100% right, or that I ever will, but I’m definitely in a stronger place.”

Lily also described her stay in the facility as “great”, saying she did “lots” of therapy, both individually and in a group.

“I needed some time and space away from everything,” she recalled. “And I did a lot of shadow work – lots of work about my inner child stuff.”

A month before her break from the spotlight, Lily had made headlines when she told her listeners that she had been “not really in a great place mentally” for around the last three years, which had recently begun manifesting itself in her “not eating”.

Reports in the press around this time claimed that Lily and her husband of more than four years, Stranger Things actor David Harbour, had parted ways. Neither Lily nor David has commented on these rumours publicly.

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

Lily Allen has disclosed that she’s been “not really in a great place mentally” for around three years.

The chart-topping singer opened up about her mental health struggles during the latest edition of her BBC Sounds podcast Miss Me?, which she co-hosts with her friend Miquita Oliver.

“I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months and my eating has become an issue,” she explained.

“My therapist and I talk about it and she says ‘How long has this been going on?’. And I said, ‘Well, about three years, really’. And she’s like, ‘OK, why haven’t you mentioned it before?’. And it’s not because I’m lying about it. It’s just because it doesn’t seem to be at the top of the list of important things that I need to talk about. But obviously it is.”

Lily said that her ADHD, with which she was diagnosed fairly recently, means she isn’t always good at “talking about the bigger picture” or “linking things”.

“My body and my brain are two very separate things to me. I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other, but for me it’s very different,” she said, as reported by the Daily Mail.

“I spend a lot of time in my head, and not a lot of time thinking about my body.”

She added: “I’m really not in a great place mentally at the moment, and I’m not eating. I’m not hungry. I obviously am hungry, but my body and brain are so disconnected from each other [that] the messages of hunger are not going through my body to my brain.

“I’m not avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it because I’m so in my head. My body’s, like, a few steps behind me.”

Last year, the Brit Award winner admitted to the Off Menu podcast that she often “forgets” to eat.

“I love food. I love eating, but I’m just not very good at remembering to do things,” she claimed. “I get up in the morning and I’m looking after kids and I just forget.”

Throughout her time in the spotlight, Lily has spoken candidly her mental health and issues with her body image, claiming in 2010 that she had body dysmorphic disorder.

Listen to the latest episode of Lily Allen’s podcast Miss Me? here.