Selena Gomez Has Opened Up About Her Bipolar Diagnosis For The First Time
While we socially distance ourselves from loved ones, face restrictions on leaving the house and are faced with a barrage of frightening, anxiety-inducing rolling news of the spread of Coronavirus, maintaining a positive state of mental health is crucial.
Institutions like the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the NHS have advised on how you can take care your mental health at this time, recognising that these unprecedented times could potentially have a negative or triggering impact.
People in the public eye have also spoken of the need for conversations around mental health, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Miley Cyrus - who has launched an Instagram Live series 'Bright Minded' - aimed at providing advice on staying positive during the pandemic.
The latest guest to speak openly about mental health during this time is Selena Gomez, who appeared on 'Bright Minded' and opened up about having bipolar disorder, which until now, she hasn't spoken about.
In a candid virtual exchange with her fellow Disney alum, Gomez aired her thoughts on how to talk openly about mental health for anyone watching who is struggling and provided some helpful tips.
'Recently I went to one of the best mental health hospitals in America, McLean Hospital [affiliated with Harvard University in Massachusetts], and I discussed that after years of going through a lot of different things, I realised I was bipolar. So, when I know more information it actually helps me. It doesn't scare me when I know it.
'I think people get scared of it and I've seen it, even in my own family... I'm from Texas, it's not known to talk about your mental health. You've got to seem cool, and then I see anger built up in children, teenagers or adults because they are wanting that [to talk about it] so badly. So I just feel like when I finally said what I was going to say, I wanted to know everything about it and it took the fear away.'
Though the 27-year-old has previously spoken about her experiences with anxiety and depression, this is her first time confirming she has bipolar disorder, which the NHS describes as a condition which affects your moods, which can swing from one extreme to the other: Usually depression (feeling very low and lethargic) to mania (feeling very high and overactive).
Watch Cyrus' full Bright Minded episode with Gomez, Elton John, Kerry Washington and Jimmy Fallon here:
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