It is important to start a dialog. Selena GomezShe spoke out about her struggles with her mental health throughout the years.
After being diagnosed with Lupus in 2014, the singer sought treatment. She has been a part of various voluntary programs for anxiety, panic attacks, and depression. Nine months after she finished treatment in January 2018, Us Weekly confirmed she was seeking “opened-ended” mental health treatment.
In April 2020, GetawayStar revealed that she was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. “It doesn’t scare me once I know it,” she told Miley Cyrus in an episode of the latter’s “Bright Minded” Instagram series. “I think people get scared of that, right?”
Rare Beauty founder, who also hosts conversations with experts and sheds light on various issues through her projects, has used her platform to raise awareness for mental health.
She was an executive producer for the Netflix series from 2017 to 2020 13 Reasons WhyThe book, which sparked many discussions on the struggles of young adults and teens today.
“This is happening every day,” Gomez said during an Elvis Duran and The Morning Show interview in 2017, referring to the show’s serious themes. “Whether or not you wanted to see it, that’s what’s happening. The content is complex. It’s dark and it has moments that are honestly very hard to swallow, and I understood that we were doing something that is difficult.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, which brought mental health to the forefront for people all over the world, the “Bad Liar” songstress continued to speak out about the importance of checking in with your emotions. In October 2020 she hosted an Instagram Live with Dr. Vivek MurthyPresident Joe Biden’ssurgeon general, to discuss her feelings of loneliness while locked down.
“In the beginning I couldn’t deal with it that well,” she said, discussing the early months of quarantine. “But then I started going into a place where I as writing and being active; it forced me to have that time. I’ve been able to spend time with those quality people a lot more than I ever have, and I’m spending a lot more time with my family.”
Murthy explained that Gomez’s story was a great example of why it’s important to share how you’re feeling. “If you recognize that [almost everyone is struggling in some way], you’ll recognize that there’s many ways to reach out,” he said. “When we serve other people, we shift the focus from ourselves to them in the context of a positive interaction … and we reaffirm to ourselves that we have value to bring to the world.”
