Selena Gomez on Reclaiming Her Story After Her Mental Health Journey Was “Twisted”

Selena Gomez has been incredibly candid about her ongoing mental health journey over the years, recently revealing she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and opening up about managing her depression during shelter-in-place. In an interview with The Newsette for its Nov. 17 newsletter, the 28-year-old singer, joined by her mom, Mandy Teefey, once again spoke honestly about her mental health, getting real about reclaiming her own story, channeling her pain into self-growth, and finding joy in her music.

After initially opening up about her struggle with her mental health, Gomez shared that she had to give up social media for some time because of the judgment. “But I got so angry that my story was twisted into so many different things,” she said. When she returned to her various platforms, she decided to speak up about her mental illnesses to get ahead of false narratives and be in control of her own story. “The first time I posted [again], I was like, ‘I claim my own story, so if you don’t hear it from me, then it’s not true,'” she said. She continued, “I think that was my moment when I knew [nobody] was going to take my story away from me . . . On my own social media, I got to tell the truth. And once I started claiming my own name, I think people understood my mental health journey.”

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The Rare Beauty founder, who recently pledged to donate $100 million in 10 years to mental health causes through the Rare Impact Fund, also discussed how her music changed for the better as she became happier and focused on her mental health. “None of what I’m doing now would have stemmed from the mindset I had before. My best stuff is happening now,” she said. Gomez revealed that when she heard the reactions to her single “Lose You to Love Me,” she felt it was all “worth it.” “All of these years of confusion and being in love . . . and it was finally a clean slate. And it wasn’t even because everyone liked it; it was just a realization of why I went through everything I went through.”