Selena Gomez has opened up in the past about her lupus diagnosis and mental health struggles. And now, in a new cover story with the WSJ Magazine, the Lose You To Love Me singer divulges more about her journey.
The pop star, who rose to fame on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place, said life got "scary" once the show — and her subsequent singing career — projected her into the spotlight. The pressure of a frantic work schedule, the Hollywood partying scene, plus flare-ups of her autoimmune disease, all contributed to worsening symptoms of anxiety and depression.
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“My highs were really high, and my lows would take me out for weeks at a time,” she recalled. Gomez visited treatment facilities due to mental health issues more than once, and — she disclosed in the interview — has been seeing therapists for over six years now. (Therapy gang unite!) “I found out I do suffer from mental health issues,” she said. “And, honestly, that was such a relief.”
“I realized that there was a way to get help and to find people that you trust,” elaborated Gomez. “I got on the right medication, and my life has been completely changed.”
Gomez said that because of her mental health journey, she feels more self-assured than ever before."I had low self-esteem, and that’s something I work on continuously. But I feel so empowered because I’ve gained so much knowledge about what was going on mentally," she said.
Her physical health issues have also played a role in her gratitude for life today. During a surgery she underwent to receive a kidney transplant, Gomez experienced complications that turned the two-hour procedure into a seven-hour one. “That’s what makes you go, You know what, I’m just so happy to be alive,” she said.
Now, with her lupus in remission and her mental health in a more stable and positive place, Gomez said sees the purpose in her past struggles. “There were a few moments in my life when I felt like, Why? Why me?” she said. “But now I look at it as, At least I can relate to more people.”
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