Selena Gomez is getting real about her mental health struggles.
Appearing on "Good Morning America," the singer discussed her bipolar disorder diagnosis, saying that it was "freeing" to be able to understand herself better and inform herself about the condition.
"It was really freeing to have the information," she said. "It made me really happy because I started to have a relationship with myself, and I think that's the best part. Like, I've probably been the happiest I've ever been."
During the interview, Gomez also revealed that she had been offline for four years and credits her decision to making her feel "normal" despite her fame.
"I haven't been on the internet in 4 1/2 years," she said. "It has changed my life completely. I am happier, I am more present, I connect more with people. It makes me feel normal."
Gomez has previously spoken about how detrimental social media has been to her mental health. In 2019 she appeared on "Live With Kelly and Ryan" and shared that she had deleted Instagram from her phone. At the time she was the third most followed person on the platform.
"I used to a lot [go online on Instagram and engage with my followers], but I think it's just become really unhealthy for young people, including myself, to spend a lot of time fixating on all these comments and letting this stuff in, and it was affecting me," she said, according to Elle.
Gomez said she decided it was best to delete Instagram from her phone because it wound up making her feel depressed.
"It would make me feel not good about myself, and look at my body differently and all kinds of stuff, so I actually don't have it on my phone," she said.
Earlier this year, Gomez also got candid about her mental health during an interview with InStyle, saying that she had "problems with depression and anxiety" and "found it difficult for me to be me." In 2018 she admitted that depression and anxiety would never go away for her.
"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," Gomez told Harper's Bazaar. "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 OK with that because I know that I'm choosing myself over anything else."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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