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Tag: Selena Gomez

  • Selena Gomez Honored With McLean Award For Mental Health Advocacy

    Selena Gomez Honored With McLean Award For Mental Health Advocacy

    The pop star has been open about her struggles with depression and anxiety throughout her career. 

    Selena Gomez is being honored for her willingness to speak out about her own mental health, as the singer and actress recently was awarded the 2019 McLean Award from McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. 

    According to Today, the 27-year-old accepted the award on September 13 and in doing so, shared her own personal experiences with depression and anxiety. 

    Getting Mental Health Treatment

    Last October, Gomez checked into a treatment facility for her own mental health. 

    “It felt as though all of my pain, anxiety and fear washed over me all at once, and it was one of the scariest times of my life,” Gomez said upon accepting the award. 

    Checking into treatment came a year after Gomez received a kidney transplant, a result of her battle with the autoimmune disease lupus. Gomez said that receiving her diagnosis lead her to feel “equal parts terrified and relieved.”

    She added that she felt “terrified because the veil was lifted but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I had suffered with various depressions and anxieties for so many years. I never had full awareness or answers about this condition.”

    For the past year, Gomez has been working to regain control of her emotions and learn how to put her health first. 

    “Although this does not mean that it has all gone away, I can say that after a year of a lot of intense work I am happier, I am healthier and I’m in control of my emotions and thoughts more than I have ever been,” she said.

    Talking About Mental Health In The Public Eye

    In speaking at the award ceremony, Gomez said it  “feels right to share” about her experience with depression and anxiety, but added that it’s not necessarily easy to do so. 

    Others expressed appreciation for Gomez’s transparency, including Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. 

    “Thank you @selenagomez for being so open about your #mentalhealth,” he tweeted. “Your bravery in seeking help and speaking out will inspire others to do the same. @RudermanFdn was honored to hear your story last Friday at @McLeanHospital.”

    “I have feared being misunderstood and judged,” Gomez said. “I know that I have been given experiences and people and opportunities that have made my life exceptionally beautiful and sweet — and yet I struggle with my own thoughts and feelings at times. But this doesn’t make me faulty. This does not make me weak. This does not make me less than. This makes me human. We need help, and we need each other.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Selena Gomez Gets Candid On Instagram: "Depression Was My Life"

    Selena Gomez Gets Candid On Instagram: "Depression Was My Life"

    “I think before I turned 26 there was like this weird time in my life [where] I think I was kind of on auto pilot for about five years.”

    In a recent Instagram post, pop starlet Selena Gomez announced she would be taking a break from social media. She also held a live stream to speak to her fans about what she’s been going through.

    “Update: taking a social media break. Again. As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given,” she wrote in the post. “Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.”

    Gomez also hosted an Instagram live stream where she spoke with fans for the last time before her hiatus. Fans asked her questions in the chat about a wide variety of topics, including her mental health.

    “Depression was my life for five years straight,” she revealed to her fans. “I think before I turned 26 there was like this weird time in my life [where] I think I was kind of on auto pilot for about five years. Kinda just going through the motions and figuring out who I am and just doing the best I could and then slowly but surely doing that.”

    Having her every action put under the spotlight for public scrutiny led to an “annoying” pattern where she constantly dealt with a “fear of what people are going to say.”

    To a fan who asked how to forget someone, Gomez offered a little advice.

    “Well, you can’t really just like forget. You kinda have to figure out why you’re still holding onto them. Like why do you want to forget them? And that’s where you start,” she said, before adding “Sometimes forgetting can be a bad thing.”

    This level of candidness from Gomez to her fans is not unprecedented. She has always been vocal about her struggles with mental health and her battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease. In February, the singer went to rehab for a mental health tune-up.

    “She felt like she needed to get away and focus on herself with no distractions. She came back feeling very empowered. She wants to go again later this year. She feels and looks great. She’s still working on new music and is excited about it,” someone close to Gomez told People.

    Gomez is also taking a social media break this time not because things are bad, but because they are good.

    “I enjoy my life,” she said on Good Morning America. “I don’t really think about anything that causes me stress anymore, which is really nice.”

    View the original article at thefix.com