Miley Cyrus says touring is a "pretty isolating" and draining experience for artists

She told The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast: "When I was little it was kinda like a playground and then later it started feeling more like a battleground.

"Because you see really how much it puts the physical body through -mentally, emotionally, it's one of probably for me... it's pretty isolating.

"You know, you're seeing thousands and thousands of people but then you're also getting on a tour bus and it's just you... so it's the fall at night, it's a really big drop.

"Because it's all I ever knew, it made me feel really comfortable. But when it's you and not your dad, it's something else."

Miley also reflected on the "intense" scheduled she had on her Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana as a child star, balancing her education with long days on set.

She recalled: "I was in school for four hours a day. So it's compacting what you usually get [where] a kid goes to school for seven and a half hours but you get to play, you go to lunch, you hang out with friends.

"They pad in that time for you to kinda mess around, and we didn't really have that time.

"It was pretty much like doing a 12-hour day, every day, Monday through Friday, and then on the weekends I was performing as Miley Cyrus, because I wanted to build that at the same time."

The Wrecking Ball hitmaker now finds herself being more "choosey" about the musical projects and acting roles she takes on.

Miley grew up in spotlight, something she insisted isn't "healthy for anyone" when you "don't get to go through a natural growth cycle".

It led to periods of going off the wall after being a child star, which she described as the "best way to learn", figuring things out for herself.

However, there was a lot of pressure given the people she was responsible for at all stages of her life.

She said: "Trial and error is the best way to learn. I think the error thing is really scary, because you've just got a lot of people depending on you, and not only your livelihood but everyone around is depending on you to bring home what you usually do when you put on a successful tour - you sell out - or a big movie.

"So, it's scary when you're keeping grown-ups that have families - you're keeping the lights on as a kid. That's scary."