Selena Gomez opens up about bipolar diagnosis: ‘I’ve been to four treatment centers’
Singer and actor’s forthcoming documentary ‘My Mind & Me’ details her journey with her physical and mental health
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Selena Gomez has spoken about her experiences with bipolar disorder, disclosing that she’s been to “four treatment centres”.
The 30-year-old singer and actor first revealed her bipolar diagnosis in 2020 after checking into a mental health facility.
Now, she has further opened up to fans in her forthcoming documentary My Mind & Me.
Ahead of its release on Apple TV+ on Friday (4 November), Gomez spoke candidly with Rolling Stone about the “dark” period in her “early twenties”.
“I’m going to be very open with everybody about this: I’ve been to four treatment centres,” the Only Murders in the Building star said.
“I think when I started hitting my early twenties is when it started to get really dark, when I started to feel like I was not in control of what I was feeling, whether that was really great or really bad.”
The “Lose You To Love Me” singer continued: “It would start with depression, then it would go into isolation.
“Then it just was me not being able to move from my bed. I didn’t want anyone to talk to me. My friends would bring me food because they love me, but none of us knew what it was.”
Gomez continued: “Sometimes it was weeks I’d be in bed, to where even walking downstairs would get me out of breath.”
While the former Disney Channel star said she never attempted suicide, she had contemplated it, explaining: “I thought the world would be better if I wasn’t there.”
By 2018, things got worse and Gomez checked into a mental health facility, where she was officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Doctors gave her various medications in hope something would help.
“There was no part of me that was there anymore,” she said of the drugs’ effects. “It was just that I was gone.”
It wasn’t until Gomaz left the facility and saw a psychiatrist, who took her off all the medications except for two, that she began to “detox”.
“I had to learn how to remember certain words. I would forget where I was when we were talking,” Gomez recalled.
“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.”
My Mind & Me is released Friday 4 November on Apple TV+.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments