Bridgerton actress Ruby Barker shared the results of her wellness journey, which she embarked on to improve her mental health.

Barker posted before-and-after photos on Instagram Thursday: “In the first picture, I was not happy,” Barker, 26, wrote.

“I felt like I’d lost not only my mind, but my will to take care of my inner child and cook for her, clean for her, work for her, get out and live for her.”

Barker, however, called both images “beautiful bodies,” pointing out that her “weight loss and toning up” wasn’t the result of a specific diet program, but rather was “a byproduct of inner work,” and posted the hashtags #bodypositive and #mentalhealth.

The actress —  who played Marina Thompson on Bridgerton — attributed her progress to “cooking, moving, sleeping, accepting where I am and still getting back up.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“It’s not been an overnight thing, it took months for me to completely surrender to my lifestyle adaptations with the aim to better my physical, spiritual and emotional health; small changes quickly became big wins.”

Barker, who appears in the upcoming horror film Baghead, revealed, “I would have panic attacks at the thought of stepping foot in a gym, I would pretend I wasn’t out of [breath] after climbing stairs and run to the bathroom to catch it back, I would starve myself all day, then binge, binge, binge, feel like crap then do it all over again.”

She thanked her trainer Muyi, who shared her post, writing, “Amazing progress from Ruby!!! We still cooking.💪”

It’s not the first time the actress has been open about her health struggles, sharing last year that she’d been hospitalized for mental health treatment.

“I can’t wait for the future, I’m doing ok for myself, I’m in a beautiful environment right now to take some time to myself and relax and breathe,” Barker said at the time.

“Getting outdoors, going for walks, speaking to loved ones, trying not to ostracize yourself, that’s a really big step. If I have any advice for my younger self, I would just tell myself, ‘Listen, it’s not all doom and gloom, even when you hit rock bottom.'”

Barker is an outspoken advocate for mental health reform, recently calling her own hospitalization, “Scary. Inadequate, Clinical.” and called for more funding.

 And while Barker said speaking about her own mental health made her “feel a sense of vulnerability,” she added, “I also feel that it’s really important to be transparent about my own struggles with my mental health in order to help others.”