While coming to terms with her sexuality and going through conversion therapy has left her with “emotional scars,” Hollywood actor Alyson Stoner recently said. “I know firsthand how dangerous it is,” the ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’ star said in an interview.

Talking about growing up in a religious environment, Alyson Stoner told Insider, “I felt stuck. I felt wretched. I felt like everything was wrong with me, even though I, in my heart of hearts, only desired to be a devoted follower of God.”

The 27-year-old actor identifies herself as pansexual. Alyson stoner said she has admitted herself to an “outpatient variation” of conversion therapy.

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Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific practice through which people try to change or cure the sexual orientation of someone. The idea has been debunked by various studies and major medical associations have discredited this practice and many US states have banned it.

“My mind doesn’t want to even go there. My legs started shaking at the thought of reliving some of it. I know firsthand how dangerous it is for me as someone who had access to therapy and other forms of support. And I still was considering whether my life was worth living,” Alyson Stoner said, talking about the conversion therapy.

The practice “inflicts severe pain and suffering (and) also leaves physical and long-lasting psychological damage” on those who undergo it, a UN human rights envoy had said last year, calling for a global ban of the therapy.

“It severs the mind-body connection because I see the body as something that is shameful, that is not to be trusted… It actually ends up messing with my ability to foster genuine relationships with others and myself, because now I’m suppressing a voice,” Alyson Stoner said.