Selena Gomez’s Mental Health Battle in Her Own Words

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Selena Gomez's Mental Health Battle in Her Own Words

Starting a dialogue. Selena Gomez has spoken candidly about her struggles with mental health over the years. The singer first sought treatment in 2014 after she was diagnosed with lupus. She has since attended various voluntary programs to manage anxiety, panic attacks and depression. Nine months after she completed treatment in January 2018, Us Weekly confirmed she was seeking “opened-ended” mental health treatment. In April 2020, the Getaway star revealed that she had been diagnosed with 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?" The Rare Beauty founder has also used her platform to raise awareness about mental health, both by hosting conversations with experts and shedding light on various issues through her projects. From 2017 to 2020, she served as an executive producer on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which sparked many discussions about the struggles contemporary teens and young adults face. [jwplayer mONjB2P3-zhNYySv2] “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 complicated. 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 Murthy, President Joe Biden's surgeon general, to discuss the feelings of loneliness she was experiencing while in lockdown. “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.” [podcast_block]

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Trying Her Best 

A rep for Gomez confirmed she sought treatment in February 2014. Shortly after, she thanked fans for their support on Instagram: “I’ve done everything I could to the best of my ability. Thank you for the unconditional love and cyber hugs. You inspire me."

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Giving Into Pressure

The Disney alum gave an inspiring speech at the We Day conference in March 2014. "I'm surrounded by people who are supposed to guide me, and some of them have, and others haven't. They pressure me. There's so much pressure. You gotta be sexy, you gotta be cute, you gotta be nice. You gotta be all these things,” she told the crowd. "They tell me what to wear, how to look, what I should say, how I should be. Until recently, I had given into that pressure. I lost sight of who I was. I listened to opinions of people, and I tried to change who I am because I thought that others would accept me for it."

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Being a Light

After Gomez sent a struggling fan words of encouragement on Instagram, she screenshotted her message and shared it with her millions of followers. "By me following you is not me saying it's ok to think these thoughts. It's not me saying 'hey you said sad things, so I'm going to follow you to make you feel better'. God puts us in situations that are so unexplainably difficult for a reason. There is someone in the world feeling so much, just like you,” she wrote in February 2015. "People everyday feel so many emotions they wish they could turn it off. But that's not why we are here. We are here for relationships, for people just like us who feel worthless. Your purpose is to share, help, encourage. Remember that. Please. Before you think of taking your life, think of all the [lives] you could save. I love you. More importantly there is a God that will love more than I ever could."

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Taking Time

In April 2016, the “Same Old Love” songstress explained her decision to go to rehab years earlier. "I got diagnosed with lupus. My mom had a very public miscarriage. So I had to cancel my tour. I needed time to just be OK,” she told GQ. ”It’s really frustrating, because I am 100 percent allowed to have that, but I think people just want to have some sort of — I understand what you’re asking. But I’m just saying, I don’t think it really matters. My past seems to be way more fascinating for people than my future, which bums me out … Why do you care?"

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Feeling the Side Effects 

Gomez revealed she was taking a step back from the public eye in August 2016 to cope with the side effects from Lupus. “As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have Lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways. I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of Lupus, which can present their own challenges,” she said in a statement to Us Weekly. “I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone and by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues.”

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Returning to the Stage 

The “Hands to Myself” crooner made her first post-rehab appearance at the American Music Awards in November 2016. “In 2014 this stage was actually the first time I was authentically 100 percent honest with all of you,” a teary Gomez told the audience. “I think it’s safe to say most of you know a lot of my life whether I liked it or not. I had to stop because I had everything and I was absolutely broken inside and I kept it all together enough to where I would never let you down, but I kept it too much together to where I let myself down.”

“I don’t want to see your bodies on Instagram. I want to see what’s in here,” Gomez continued while pointing to her heart. “I’m so grateful to be able to share what I love with people that I love. You guys are so damn loyal but if you are broken you do not have to stay broken.” 

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Staying Thankful 

Gomez shared an emotional message with fans on Thanksgiving Day in 2016, admitting it was her “hardest” but “most rewarding” year yet. “I’ve finally fought the fight of not 'being enough.' I have only wanted to reflect the love you guys have given me for years and show how important it is to take care of YOU,” she wrote. “By grace through faith. Kindness always wins. I love you guys. God bless.” 

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Still Relatable 

While promoting season 1 of 13 Reasons Why, Gomez, who served as an executive producer on the series, revealed she related to the story. “I went away for 90 days and I actually met tons of kids in this place [and] we are talking about a lot of the issues that these characters are experiencing, [so] I would say yes,” Gomez said during a panel in February 2017. “I had to deal with it on a different scale. Whether it was kids or just growing up in the biggest high school in the world which was the Disney Channel, it was also adults that had the audacity to kind of tell me how I should live my life. It was very confusing for me. … I had no idea who I was gonna be, what I'm still going to become. It definitely hit home.”

She added: “I think this is what they need to see. We are not gonna post things, like, ‘Hey be empowered,' because that's not what they wanna see. Kids don't care. They have to see something that's gonna shake something. I want them to understand it. I would do anything to have a good influence on this generation. It's hard, but I definitely relate to everything going on.”

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Life on the Road

Gomez admitted to Vogue in March 2017 that she feels “really lonely” on tour. “My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting on stage, or right after leaving the stage. Basically I felt I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t capable,” she revealed. “I felt I wasn’t giving my fans anything, and they could see it—which, I think, was a complete distortion. I was so used to performing for kids.” 

“At concerts I used to make the entire crowd raise up their pinkies and make a pinky promise never to allow anybody to make them feel that they weren’t good enough. Suddenly I have kids smoking and drinking at my shows, people in their 20s, 30s, and I’m looking into their eyes, and I don’t know what to say. I couldn’t say, ‘Everybody, let’s pinky-promise that you’re beautiful!’” Gomez continued. “It doesn’t work that way, and I know it because I’m dealing with the same shit they’re dealing with. What I wanted to say is that life is so stressful, and I get the desire to just escape it. But I wasn’t figuring my own stuff out, so I felt I had no wisdom to share. And so maybe I thought everybody out there was thinking, This is a waste of time.”

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Mental Health Exercises 

When Gomez moderated a movie screening for Heaven Knows What in August 2017, she revealed she “really like the mental aspect” of the film. “The beginning of the movie struck with me… that’s not really a secret, but, I for sure have talked about that and have done a lot of those exercises.” 

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An Ongoing Struggle

“Anyone who knows me knows I will always start with my health and my well-being,” she began in her March 2018 Harper’s Bazaar cover story. “I’ve had a lot of issues with depression and anxiety, and I’ve been very vocal about it, but it’s not something I feel I’ll ever overcome. There won’t be a day when I’m like, ‘Here I am in a pretty dress — I won!’ I think it’s a battle I’m gonna have to face for the rest of my life, and I’m OK with that because I know that I’m choosing myself over anything else.”

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Taking Care of Herself 

“The beauty myth- an obsession with physical perfection that traps modern woman in an endless cycle of hopelessness, self consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty,” Gomez wrote on Instagram in March 2018. “I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone. Wind in her sails.”

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Proud of Her Progress

After Gomez completed another stint in treatment in December 2018, she broke her silence via Instagram the following January. “It’s been awhile since you have heard from me, but I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year and to thank you for your love and support,” she wrote. “Last year was definitely a year of self-reflection, challenges and growth. It’s always those challenges which show you who you are and what you are capable of overcoming. Trust me, it’s not easy, but I am proud of the person I am becoming and look forward to the year ahead. Love you all.”

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Singing Through It

Gomez sang about her mental health battle in a song with Julia Michaels titled “Anxiety,” released in January 2019. “But all my friends they don't know, what it's like, what it's like / They don't understand why, I can't sleep through the night,” she sings. “And I thought that I could take something to fix it / Damn I wish it, I wish it was that simple, ah, ah.”

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Coping With Anxiety Attacks

“I feel great, yeah,” she told NPR in January 2020. “I'm on the proper medication that I need to be on, even as far as my mental health. I fully believe in just making sure you check in with your doctors or therapist. [Taking care of mental health — ] that's forever. That's something I will have to continue to work on. Yes, I don't think I just magically feel better. I have days where it is hard for me to get out of bed, or I have major anxiety attacks. All of that still happens.”

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The Right Medication

The “Lose You to Love Me” singer opened up about seeking professional help and treatment during an interview with WSJ. Magazine in January 2020. "I found out I do suffer from mental health issues. And, honestly, that was such a relief," she said. "I realized that there was a way to get help and to find people that you trust. I got on the right medication, and my life has been completely changed.”

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Coming to Terms

In April 2020, Gomez revealed she was bipolar during an appearance on Miley Cyrus’ Instagram Live series, Bright Minded: Live With Miley. “Recently I went to one of the best mental hospitals in the world … And I discussed that after years of going through a lot of different things I realized that I was bipolar,” she explained. 

“When I have more information, it actually helps me, it doesn’t scare me once I know it,” the former child actress continued. “When I finally said what I was going to say, I wanted to know everything about it and it took the fear away.”

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Living With Bipolar Disorder During Lockdown

During a virtual WarnerMedia Television Critics Association press tour in August 2020, Gomez spoke about her diagnosis and coping amid the coronavirus pandemic. "It's not easy for anyone to be walking through what we're walking through. It's not normal, and it's affecting people, specifically with mental health, and people who could have never thought about things they're thinking about now. And it's really confusing.”

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Finding The Right Help

In March 2021, the 13 Reasons Why producer spoke about when she knew she needed help. “I knew I couldn’t go on unless I learned to listen to my body and mind when I really needed help,” she told Vogue. “And then I start thinking about my personal life, and I’m like, ‘What am I doing with my life?’ and it becomes this spiral.”

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Encouraging Others

In April 2021, the "Lose You to Love Me" songstress announced a new campaign with her Rare Beauty brand "to help support mental health education, empower our community and encourage financial support for more mental health services in educational settings." In an Instagram post about the new initiative, called Mental Health 101, Gomez opened up about her own past struggles with depression, explaining that she wants her experience to remind others coping with mental health issues that they are not alone.

"I know firsthand how scary and lonely it can feel to face anxiety and depression by yourself at a young age," she wrote. "If I had learned about my mental health earlier on — been taught about my condition in school that way I was taught about other subjects — my journey could have looked very different. The world needs to know that mental health matters. It's just as important as your physical health, and I wish we could all acknowledge that, not just in words but through our actions."

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She’s Studied DBT

Gomez candidly spoke about her treatment via a Vogue Australia interview in June 2021. “I’ve studied DBT, which is Dialectical Behavior Therapy. I’ve been to four treatment centers,” she explained. “I think in mental health, I never understood the stigma until I went to my first treatment center because that was years ago. But then there was a photograph that got out, and it’s wild to see how mean they were. It was like: ‘She’s the next this person, she’s the childhood star,’ whatever. And: ‘She’s doing drugs.’ They’re saying all this stuff about me. I’m watching all of that change, slowly but surely, because now, if any media outlet made fun of me, they’re the ones that look like the asshole because we don’t tolerate that anymore. It’s actually crazy that I’m watching it happen, even though I know we have so much more to do. And I have goals. I want to put this as a curriculum into schools. I feel like I practice [DBT] every day … And then I also love being in the studio. Because the first hour I’m in a studio, I just talk. It’s like therapy. You just go in and you share your heart.”

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Beauty Standards Took a Toll on Her Wellbeing

In June 2021, the beauty founder spoke with Stellar magazine about how “impossible beauty standards” took a toll on her mental health, which inspired her to launch her own makeup brand. “Society constantly tells us that we’re not enough, so I wanted to start a brand to challenge and eliminate that pressure – to change the conversation,” she said. "My goal with Rare Beauty is to break down these unrealistic standards of beauty. I saw from personal experience how these impossible beauty standards were having such an effect on my mental health and I know a lot of people who felt the same way.”

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Pushing Through for Others

“My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks — these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,” Gomez said in Elle’s first LatinX issue, published in August 2021. “Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?’”

The former Disney Channel star explained that she looked inward to get the strength to move forward. “You’re going to help people,” she recalled telling herself. “That’s really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn’t strong enough and would have done something to hurt myself.”

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Tackling the 'Pressure'

In October 2021, the former child star recalled feeling "an immense amount of pressure" to set a good example for her fans early on in her career. "It was really confusing growing up, and once people created this narrative of my life, I realized I can't be quiet anymore," she told Beauty Inc. of the "unrealistic" expectations she was held to as a young actress and singer. "I have to just address what needs to be addressed, and that's me reclaiming my story, which is, 'OK, yeah, I was definitely going through a hard time, and this is why, and this is what I deal with.'"

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Launching Official Wondermind

In a November 2021 interview with Entrepreneur magazine, Gomez revealed she teamed up with her mom, Mandy Teefy, and Daniella Pierson to launch the Official Wondermind, a mental fitness company. Teefey struggles with ADHD and anxiety, while Pierson has OCD. 

"[The conversation between the three of us] is one of the moments I felt closest to my mom — us coming together to talk about something we each have experienced in our own manner. It was wonderful," Gomez said. "And then to be understood by Daniella was even better."

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Learning to Cope

“Sometimes I’m not good at [taking care of my mind], like, it just happened where I’ll wake up and I struggle maybe sometimes just getting out of bed,” Gomez admitted via a December 2021 Instagram video via the official Wondermind page. “What helps me, first and foremost, just picking up the phone and calling someone. But I constantly try to fill myself with knowledge of what it is that I’m feeling and triggers that happen to me.”

She added in her message: “I think what really helps me understand myself a bit more is that I can take a step back and think of all the tools that I’ve learned and try to implement them in my everyday life. Also, I suggest working out. I hate working out, it is not fun, but I’ve been doing intense boxing classes recently and it has really helped me get a lot of frustration [and] energy out.”

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Coming A Long Way

“I became aware that my little world is complicated, but the picture is much bigger than the stuff I deal with. I have problems with depression and anxiety, and I found it difficult for me to be me,” Gomez told InStyle in January 2022. “The older I got, the more I evolved and realized that I needed to take control of what I was feeling. I wanted to be able to look in the mirror and feel confident to be who I am. Taking a break from social media was the best decision that I've ever made for my mental health.”

She continued at the time: “I'm a big believer in therapy, and I always feel so confident when I'm taking care of myself. If I'm not in the best headspace and my friends invite me out, I won't go. I've lost my sense of FOMO, which I'm proud of. Sometimes I push myself too much, and it catches up to me. But I try to balance out everything as best as I can.”

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Advocating for Therapy

“I’m a big advocate for therapy,” Gomez told Glamour UK in February 2022. “I also love to keep sticky notes around my house with positive affirmations. I have a lot of various ones, but ‘I am enough’ is a favorite of mine – I call them ‘Rare Reminders.’ And taking a scrolling break from social media helps!”

The “Selfish Love” songstress added: “From the time I can remember, I’ve always felt like I had to be perfect or look a certain way. It took me a long time to realize that I only wanted to be myself – that what made me unique was also what made me beautiful.”

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Feeling Free

After years of struggling with her mental health, Gomez revealed in April 2022 that she was relieved once she was able to get the treatment she needed. “It was really freeing to have the information [of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder]," she said during an appearance on Good Morning America. "It made me really happy because I started to have a relationship with myself, and I think that’s the best part. Like, I’ve probably been the happiest I’ve ever been."

Being able to figure out what she needed in order to take care of herself and her mental health has allowed Gomez to help others. "I can’t believe I am where I am mentally, just because of how I took the necessary steps in order to kind of remove myself from that because it’s just not normal," she continued. "I really want people to be understood and seen and heard. It’s OK to not be OK."

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Patience Is a Virtue

The singer kicked off her platform Wondermind's Thanks for Sharing campaign by revealing some of her own struggles in the hopes that more people will speak openly about their mental health.

"One thing I'm dealing with right now is being patient with myself," Gomez admitted in a May 2022 video via Twitter. "I tend to be a little unkind to myself, and I gotta work on that. That's something that I do find frustrating and I just need to allow myself to feel my feelings and then let them go."

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Speaking Freely

In May 2022, Gomez gave a speech at the Mental Health Youth Action Forum at the White House.

“Just to throw in a little bit of my journey, I felt like once I found out what was going on mentally, I found that there was more freedom for me to be OK with what I had because I was learning about it,” she began. “Bringing attention to mental health through media or just by talking about your journeys can help. … It sets the example that it's a topic that can and should be discussed freely and without shame.”

She continued: “Mental health is very personal for me, and I hope that by using my platform to share my own story and working with incredible people like all of you. I can help others feel less alone and find the help they need, which is honestly all I want."

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Telling Her Story

In the first teaser for the Apple TV+ documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, fans got an intimate look at the former child star's ups and downs. At several points in the 30-second clip, which was released in September 2022, Gomez was seen breaking down in tears. The emotional moments were juxtaposed by footage of the actress smiling and laughing with friends.

"After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness," the doc's description read. "This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light."

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Her Very Personal Documentary

In October 2022, Gomez discussed her mental and physical health struggles in the trailer for her Apple TV+ documentary, Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. "I am grateful to be alive," the "Same Old Love" singer said at one point in the video. "Let me make a promise. I am going to stop living like this. How do I learn how to breathe my own breath again?" The film, due out in November 2022, followed the six years of Gomez's life following her announcement that she would step back from the public eye after her lupus diagnosis. "My whole life since I was a kid I've been working," the 13 Reasons Why producer said in the clip. "And I don't wanna be, like, super famous. But I do know that if I'm here I have to use that for good."

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Coping With Her Diagnosis

In an October 2022 preview for her documentary, My Mind & Me, Gomez recalled being diagnosed as bipolar. 

"When I first got out, I didn't know how I'd cope with my diagnosis," the Wizards of Waverly Place alum explains. "What if it happened again? What if the next time, I couldn't come back? I needed to keep learning about it. I needed to take it day by day."

In a second clip from the teaser, Gomez says she is "happier, and I'm in control of my emotions and thoughts more than I have ever been,” adding that the secret to healing is her “connection" with the people around her. 

She adds: "It helps me get out of my head."

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Looking Back

In her November 2022 documentary My Mind & Me, Gomez broke down the “psychotic break" that led to her past stay at a treatment center. "I have no idea what the f—k I’m doing,” she said in footage from 2016 in the film. “I get the voice that comes in my head that says, ‘You missed this. That sucked.’ … It sucks the life out of me and I don’t want to perform.”

Her former assistant also recalled the Texas native revealing she didn't “wanna be alive,” saying, “It was one of those moments where you look into her eyes and there’s nothing there. It was just pitch black and it’s so scary. You're like 'OK, f—k this. This needs to end. We’re going home.'”

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Making Amends

During her Apple TV+ documentary, Gomez opened up about how her bipolar diagnosis affected her relationship with her mother and stepdad.

"I shouldn’t have spoken to them the way that I did, and I shouldn’t have treated them the way that I did, sometimes,” she shared in the November 2022 film, in a clip from 2019. “Then they know it wasn’t me so then when I wake up the next day they tell me what happened but they explain to me, they’re like, ‘Look, we know that that’s not you talking and we’re really concerned and just know that we love you, we don’t see anything different from what was last night to now.’ … I just say 'I’m so sorry' because I remember certain things that I did and I was so mean. Even to this day, I keep saying, 'Thank you and I’m sorry.'”

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Addressing Her Mental Health

For the Disney Channel alum, it was important to address her diagnosis regardless of the potential stigma.  "I’m sure that means, like, what — certain people or directors or something might not want to work with me? But then why would I want to work with them anyway? … I think I’m going to say it. I’m going to say it, it’s fine,” she explained in 2019 footage which appeared in her doc, My Mind & Me.

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Setting Boundaries

After responding to multiple videos regarding her alleged feud with Hailey Bieber (née Baldwin) and addressing comments about her weight, Gomez announced in February 2023 that she was taking a social media break. 

"I'm very happy. I'm so blessed. I have the best friends, the best fans in the whole world and I just couldn't be happier," she said in a live TikTok video. "I'm good. I love who I am, I don't care. I'm big, I'm not, I don't care. I love who I am. ... I'm gonna be taking a second from social media because this is a little silly. I'm 30, I'm too old for this. But I love you guys so much, and I will see you guys sooner than later. I'm just gonna take a break from everything."