Selena Gomez opened up about being bipolar for the first time on Friday.
During an Instagram Live chat for Miley Cyrus’ “Bright Minded” show, the singer, 27, revealed she was diagnosed with the mental health condition after a recent visit to McLean’s Hospital, which she described as “one of the best mental hospitals in the world.”
“After years of going through a lot of different things, I realized that I was bipolar,” she confessed to her fellow pop star. “So when I got to know more information, it actually helps me. It doesn’t scare me once I know it. I think people get scared of that.”
Gomez said she recognized the symptoms in her own family members, but it was taboo to talk about such things growing up.
.@SelenaGomez reveals to @MileyCyrus on #BrightMinded that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. pic.twitter.com/ryWlkEmq1p
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 3, 2020
“I’m from Texas. It’s not known to talk about your mental health,” she explained. “You’ve got to seem cool, and then I see anger built up in teenagers and young adults because they are wanting that so badly.”
Educating herself about the diagnosis has helped her find some solace, according to the “It Ain’t Me” singer.
“I wanted to know everything about it, and it took the fear away,” she said, before recalling a personal anecdote for Miley.
“When I was younger, I was scared of thunderstorms and my mom bought me all these books on thunderstorms and she was like, ‘The more you educate yourself on this, the more that you’re not going to be afraid.’ It completely worked. That’s something that helps me big time.”
Selena Gomez gets emotional talking about her grandparents and people not taking the epidemic seriously. pic.twitter.com/OHRui674QL
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) April 3, 2020
Bipolar disorder is defined as “a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings which can include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression),” according to the Mayo Clinic.
Gomez has been very open about her mental health in the past, as she sought treatment for anxiety and depression in 2016.
“Everything I cared about, I stopped caring about. I came out, and it felt like, ‘OK, I can only go forward,'” she told InStyle about the treatment. “And there are still days. I go to therapy. I believe in that and talking about where you are. But I’m in a really, really healthy place.”
For now, Selena is coping with simple measures.
“I think talking through what you’re feeling is extremely helpful,” she told Miley during the show. “Sometimes I have to feel it, sometimes I’ve got to cry it out and release it, and just take a deep breath.”
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