Selena Gomez doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in her bedroom anymore due to ongoing mental health struggles. After launching her mental health wellness site, Wondermind, she opened up about her “debilitating” anxiety and how she used to be unable to leave her bed.
Selena candidly spoke at Wondermind’s inaugural virtual Mental Fitness Summit on World Mental Health Day on October 10, E! Online reported on Wednesday (October 16).
The singer revealed: “I spent too much time in my bedroom that I actually don’t even sleep in my bedroom anymore, because I associate it with such a really dark time.”
She admitted: “Being anxious is so debilitating sometimes. I didn’t want to leave my bed for years and part of it was I wasn’t doing the work.
“You have to believe in yourself and do the work that will truly enlighten you a little bit.”
Selena Gomez doesn’t feel comfortable sleeping in her bedroom anymore due to ongoing mental health struggles
Image credits: Kate Green / BAFTA / Getty
Anxiety isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the Mental Health Foundation explains. It can spur us on, help us stay alert, make us aware of risks, and motivate us to solve problems.
However, anxiety can become a problem if it affects your ability to live your life. If your anxiety is ongoing, intense, hard to control, or out of proportion to your situation, it can be a sign of a mental health problem.
According to the Foundation, anxiety can affect both the mind and body, leading to symptoms such as a sense of dread, irritability, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations.
Image credits: Wondermind
It may also cause changes in behavior, like avoiding certain situations or withdrawing from social interactions.
Common anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobias.
These conditions are widespread, with up to one in 20 people in the United Kingdom experiencing generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
Moreover, GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the US population, as per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.
After launching her mental health wellness site, Wondermind, she opened up about her “debilitating” anxiety
Image credits: Wondermind
During the launch of her platform, which she co-founded, Selena also detailed a restless night she had experienced just before the summit.
The 32-year-old pop star recalled: “As recent as last night, I was in bed and I couldn’t fall asleep ’til about four, and it was just because my mind was simply racing.
“And I just kept saying over and over again, ‘This will pass. Just let it go through your body and it’ll go away,’ and of course, eventually, I fell asleep.”
Selena further stated that she finds it helpful to talk about her struggles with close friends, her therapist, and her mother, Mandy Teefey, with whom she co-founded Wondermind, E! Online reported.
She said: “I still have days where I need my mom, like, my mommy. And then there are also moments for me, I just allow myself to be vulnerable and cry and just talk it out.”
In the summit’s segment uploaded to Instagram, the Disney Channel alumnus added: “I tend to isolate. There are moments, of course, where you need to be on your own and feel things.
“I didn’t accept help, I just wouldn’t. And I found complete freedom in sharing everything I’ve been walking through because I know that other people feel that way too.”
Selena said she used to be unable to leave her bed
Image credits: selenagomez
She concluded: “And I hope no one ever looks at me and thinks, ‘Oh, her life is perfect.’ Because that’s just simply not true.
“I’m very grateful and I have a very blessed life. But we’re all humans, and feelings are very real.
“I think it definitely needs to be talked about and we need to educate people more about it.”
After raising millions of dollars in 2021, Wondermind launched its website in 2022, intending to “democratize and destigmatize” caring for your mental health, Forbes reported at the time.
The startup was co-founded by Selena, her mom, Mandy, and newsletter entrepreneur Daniella Pierson.
Image credits: selenagomez
Daniella, who acts as Wondermind’s co-CEO, explained: “We are going after everyone with feelings—not just [people with] mental health disorders.”
She has described the site as “a sexier, more entertaining competitor to Psychology Today, WebMD, etc. for the millions of people searching about mental health daily.”
Selena has long been outspoken about mental health. In a 2021 interview with Elle Magazine, she disclosed her bipolar disorder diagnosis, which she received in 2018.
The actress told the publication at the time: “I felt a huge weight lifted off me when I found out. I could take a deep breath and say, ‘This explains so much’.”
Selena previously disclosed her bipolar disorder diagnosis, which she received in 2018
Image credits: selenagomez
Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition characterized by periodic, intense emotional states affecting a person’s mood, energy, and ability to function, according to the American Psychiatric Association (APA).
These periods, lasting from days to weeks, are called mood episodes. Mood episodes are categorized as manic/hypomanic episodes when the predominant mood is intensely happy or irritable.
Alternatively, they are categorized as depressive episodes when there is an intensely sad mood or the ability to experience joy or pleasure disappears, as per the APA.
People with bipolar disorder generally experience periods of neutral mood as well. When treated, people with bipolar disorder can lead full and productive lives.
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