Selena Gomez has let fans in on her mental health struggles over the years. She also keeps lending her voice to support others dealing with mental health conditions.
While she is best known for her stint on the Disney Channel series Wizards Of Waverly Place, her fun pop music, and her previous relationship with Justin Bieber, there is more to Selena Gomez than meets the eyes.
The 29-year-old, who rose to fame as a child star, has openly battled Lupus and underwent a kidney transplant due to the condition. Amid the struggle with the autoimmune illness, she also dealt with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.
Putting her battles aside, Selena Gomez has remained an advocate for mental health, giving strength to her fans and the rest of the world. Here are eight ways she has done that over the years.
8 Selena Gomez Announces Wondermind
In November 2021, the mental health advocate announced the launch of Wondermind, a media platform devoted to the cause. The online space was aimed at fostering communities around mental health.
It also makes available valuable resources for those hoping to strengthen their mental fitness without fear of judgment. The former child star collaborates with her mom Mandy Teefey and The Newsette CEO Daniella Pierson on the project.
They addressed the digital void they noticed during their experiences with mental health struggles. They hope the platform will help end the stigma surrounding mental health disorders and encourage more people to open up.
7 Selena Gomez Launched A Mental Health 101 Educational Campaign
Months before setting the mental health balance with Wondermind, Selena Gomez started off a life-defining campaign. The actress launched the educational campaign Mental Health 101 with her Rare Beauty makeup brand.
The initiative was intended to support mental health education and encourage financial support for more mental health services. Gomez also called for mental health to be included in the school curriculum.
Going further, the star, who sought financial aid from the philanthropy community, launched a fundraiser supporting the Rare Impact Fund. She found the initiative on her 28th birthday in 2020.
6 Gomez's Keynote Speech At The 2020 Teen Vogue Summit
In December 2020, Gomez gave a resounding speech at the Teen Vogue Summit while serving as the keynote speaker. The icon centered her speech on the theme of her Billboard 200 no. 1 album, Rare, and how it stood for mental health advocacy.
She described herself as a huge advocate of therapy and support groups for everyone. She also encouraged people to share their emotional challenges more often and consider it a self-discovery process rather than vulnerability.
5 Her Instagram Live Chat With Vice President Kamala Harris About Mental Health
In October 2020, Selena Gomez proved her dedication to the mental health community during her live chat with vice President Kamala Harris.
When their conversation delved into significant issues plaguing the United States, Gomez unsurprisingly listed mental illness as her top pick.
She explained how it seemed to tear away the country mentally. Gomez shared her dreams of establishing a safe haven for mental health sufferers. She divulged:
"I've had so many dreams about creating places that people could go to. I think there's a part of me that wishes we had some sort of place that felt like, OK, maybe you just need to get help."
4 Gomez's Instagram Live Chat With Dr. Vivek Murthy
Selena Gomez again addressed the issue of mental health during another Instagram live chat in October 2020. This time, she had the honors of addressing Dr. Vivek Murthy, who once served as Surgeon General in the White House under former President Barack Obama.
During their discussions, Gomez opened up about her struggles with depression at the beginning of the pandemic. She explained how taking a break from the constant traveling and distractions her job entailed took a toll on her.
Thankfully, she was able to live through that phase with the help of the right people.
3 Selena Gomez Deleted Instagram From Her Phone
Selena Gomez deleted the Instagram app from her phone to stay sane at the peak of her stardom. The star, who was once the most followed person on the gram, tasked her assistant with managing her social media to keep the account active.
During a 2019 sit down on Live With Kelly And Ryan, the icon admitted to the hosts that she made the decision because of the impact of Instagram on her mental health. She explained:
"I think it's just become really unhealthy for young people, including myself, to spend all of their time fixating on all of these comments, and it was affecting me. It would make me depressed; it would make me feel not good about myself and look at my body differently."
2 Gomez Opened Up About Feeling Lonely For First American Vogue Cover
In 2017, Selena Gomez went candid about some of her most significant vulnerabilities, including crying on stage. This revelation made fans connect to the star better by perceiving her as more human.
However, this connection with her fans became more intense after the fan shared another shocker, revealing how mentally draining touring could be. She shared:
"I've cried onstage more times than I can count, and I'm not a cute crier. Tours are a really lonely place for me. My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage."
Somehow, letting fans know she wasn't always the collected, confident woman who always had it together encouraged more people to share their stories and feel better about themselves.
1 Entering A 90-Day Treatment Centre For Depression And Anxiety
Gracing the cover of Instyle in 2017, the crooner shunned the stigma surrounding mental health disorders and opened up about receiving treatment.
The star detailed how she enrolled in a mental health facility in Tennessee for a 90-day treatment for depression and anxiety. She described the decision to disregard everything else and take the treatment head-on as the best thing she had ever done.
Selena Gomez has upheld the same energy ever since, overcoming her various life challenges while being a role model to other women and girls struggling with mental health illnesses.