Selena Gomez is speaking candidly about her struggles with mental health in a new interview.
The singer and actress is gracing the cover of US Vogue for the first time, and in the accompanying interview she discusses cancelling her Revival tour and heading to rehab.
“Tours are a really lonely place for me,” Selena said.
“My self-esteem was shot. I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting onstage, or right after leaving the stage. Basically I felt I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t capable.”
The star spent 90 days at a treatment facility, which she described as “one of the hardest things” but also “the best thing” she has done, and credits Dialectical Behavior Therapy with being a great help to her.
“I wish more people would talk about therapy,” she said. “We girls, we’re taught to be almost too resilient, to be strong and sexy and cool and laid-back, the girl who’s down. We also need to feel allowed to fall apart.”
Selena is currently promoting Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which she executive produces, but is otherwise trying to enjoy some time away from the spotlight and social media.
“As soon as I became the most followed person on Instagram, I sort of freaked out,” she sad. “It had become so consuming to me. It’s what I woke up to and went to sleep to.
“I was an addict, and it felt like I was seeing things I didn’t want to see, like it was putting things in my head that I didn’t want to care about.”
Selena added: “I always end up feeling like shit when I look at Instagram. Which is why I’m kind of under the radar, ghosting it a bit.”
The 24-year-old can’t entirely escape the spotlight, especially with a new relationship with The Weeknd, but she has vowed to never discuss her relationships publicly again.
“Look, I love what I do, and I’m aware of how lucky I am, but—how can I say this without sounding weird? I just really can’t wait for people to forget about me,” Selena told Vogue.
