In 2018, Selena Gomez experienced a psychosis episode that resulted in several months of treatment. During that time, she was paranoid and had a difficult time trusting those around her. She eventually went to McLean Hospital, where doctors diagnosed the 30-year-old singer-songwriter with bipolar disorder.
Gomez opened up about her struggles with the disorder in a recent interview with Rolling Stone for their cover story. She explained how hard it was to accept her diagnosis, adding it ‘took a lot of hard work for me to (a) accept that I was bipolar, but (b) learn how to deal with it because it wasn’t going to go away.’
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), more than 2.3 million Americans are currently diagnosed with bipolar disorder. It’s characterized by abnormal shifts in mood, energy, activity, concentration, and/or ability to perform basic, everyday tasks – there’s no cure, but there are treatments.
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During the Rolling Stone interview, she opened up about wanting to be a mother one day but detailed some of the obstacles standing in her way. In an effort to treat her bipolar disorder, doctors have her on two medications that could impact her ability to carry her own children – something she’s devastated by.
She detailed one moment when she was crying in her car after speaking to one of her friends that were in the process of trying to get pregnant. The medication she takes would complicate the pregnancy, but her bipolar disorder could worsen if she doesn’t take the medication during pregnancy – a classic catch-22.
While she likely won’t be able to carry her own child, Gomez isn’t about to let that stop her from starting a family one day. “That’s a very big, big, present thing in my life. … However I’m meant to have them, I will” said Gomez to Rolling Stone. It’s that type of determination and desire that will lead her to that inner goal.
Gomez originally revealed her diagnosis to fans in 2020 as a guest on Bright Minded, an Instagram Live show hosted by Miley Cyrus. ‘And so when I go to know more information, it actually helps me. It doesn’t scare me once I know it… I wanted to know everything about it, and it took the fear away,’ she said.
A New Documentary About Selena Gomez Will Be Released on Friday
For those that want to learn more about Selena Gomez and her story, you’ll be pleased to learn of her new documentary titled Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me. It details her struggle with mental health and learning to love and accept herself. The documentary is being released on November 4th on AppleTV+.
“It’s OK to feel not good enough and to feel like you’re complicated and complex. It’s just about having a healthy relationship with how you talk to yourself, how you seek help, how you talk to other people,” said Gomez at the LA premiere of the film, adding she hopes more people take action against mental health.
Fans can expect her to touch base on a wide variety of details about her life – including struggling with body image, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, recovering in a mental hospital, her crush on the Sprouse twins growing up, living with Lupus, and a recent philanthropic trip to Africa that left her inspired.
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Selena Gomez has always been an advocate for mental health awareness, never hesitating to speak candidly about her own struggles. “I hope this starts a chain reaction of people saying, ‘Hey, I want to say something about my mental health. I want to talk about it and seek help,’ she said at the film’s premiere.
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