Originally Published: 11 MAY 22 11:50 ET

By Marianne Garvey

(CNN) -- Hilary Duff is feeling comfortable in her skin.

The "How I Met Your Father" actress appears on the May/June cover of Women's Health, where she says she is over unrealistic ideals over her body and feels "peaceful" now when she thinks about her looks.

"I'm proud of my body," Duff says, adding, "I've gotten to a place of being peaceful with the changes my body has gone through."

She continued: "I think that at 34 I have just gained a lot of respect for my body. It's taken me all of the places I need to go. It's helped me build a beautiful family. I feel like the older I get, the more confident I get in my own skin. And my body's been many different shapes and sizes and I'm really just fascinated by, one, being a woman. And two, all the changes that your body can go through throughout your lifetime."

She says that therapy also helped her become more accepting of herself.

"I do feel lucky in the mental health department where I haven't had huge hurdles to get over, but just like everyone else I have my issues, my insecurities, pain," she said. "Therapy helps me a lot. I try to do a Zoom with my therapist at least twice a month, if not more, if I need it. But I think just talking and having the right people around you that can truly listen when you need them to, [and] taking space for yourself."

In fact, therapy is the most important part, she says.

"We bust our ass to get our bodies in shape and to look the best we can. We get facials and Botox and our hair done and highlights and brows and lash lifts and all this s---. But I want to work on the inside," she explained. "That's the most important part of the system."