'I was equal parts terrified and relieved'
Selena Gomez has opened up about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Appearing on Miley Cyrus's Instagram Live chat show, Bright Minded, the 27-year-old spoke frankly about her mental health.
'Recently, I went to one of the best mental hospitals in America, McLean Hospital, and I discussed that, after years of going through a lot of different things, I realised that I was bipolar,' she said.
'I think people get scared of that. I’ve seen some of it even in my own family where I’m like, "what’s going on?" I’m from Texas [and] it’s just not known to talk about mental health. You got to seem cool.
'And then I see anger built up in children and teenagers or whatever, young adults, because they are wanting that so badly. 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.'
It's not the first time Selena has been open about her mental health, making a personal announcement when she returned to social media last year, after she was hospitalised for a breakdown in 2018.
She continued: '[When I was diagnosed] I was equal parts terrified and relieved – 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. When I have more information, it actually helps me, it doesn’t scare me once I know [about] it.'
We applaud Selena for speaking so candidly and hope this encourages others to open up. Here's to this becoming the norm.