Selena Gomez's Mental Health Realization Might Be Relatable If You Have Anxiety and Depression
Selena Gomez is known for being candid about her health. From posting about her kidney donor on Instagram, to publicly seeking treatment for anxiety and depression, the 25-year-old singer has used her platform to spread awareness for different health conditions, and often gets real about how these conditions affect her life.
In an interview in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar conducted by “13 Reasons Why” star Katherine Langford, Gomez seems to be in a better place with her mental health. She shared why she believes 2018 will be a better year for her — even though she knows now she’ll probably be battling anxiety and depression for the rest of her life.
Anyone who knows me knows I will always start with my health and my well-being. I’ve had a lot of issues with depression and anxiety, and I’ve been very vocal about it, but it’s not something I feel I’ll ever overcome. There won’t be a day when I’m like, ‘Here I am in a pretty dress—I won!’ I think it’s a battle I’m gonna have to face for the rest of my life, and I’m okay with that because I know that I’m choosing myself over anything else. I’m starting my year off with that thought. I want to make sure I’m healthy.
Realizing you might be dealing with anxiety and depression for the rest of your life can be scary for some. In a piece about taking psychiatric medication, Mighty contributor Emily McGuigan shared how waiting for “that moment” she would finally be better actually prevented her from taking care of herself. She wrote:
As I got older, my mental illness became worse and I convinced myself that once my life circumstances changed, I would be happy. I was constantly waiting for some “change” to alter everything. Waiting for a convenient time in life to be happy or content with where I was at, setting myself up to be disappointed and preventing me from taking an active role in combating my struggles. I’ll never know what my life might bring me, so I need to know how to cope with the unpredictable — the very thing that scares me most.
This doesn’t mean you can’t experience relief from your symptoms, but sometimes, it’s important to accept taking care of your mental health needs has no finish line. As Gomez said to Langford, “There won’t be a day when I’m like, ‘Here I am in a pretty dress — I won!’ I think it’s a battle I’m gonna have to face for the rest of my life.”
Part of that battle is learning about yourself and figuring out what coping techniques work for you. Gomez, for example, shared how dialectical behavioral (DBT) therapy helped her. “DBT has completely changed my life,” she saidin an interview with Vogue last March. “I wish more people would talk about therapy.”
If your journey with mental illness is a lifelong one, we hope you find what works for you.
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Former Mighty editor // Current MSW student // In love with helping people tell their stories
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