This article has been updated since its initial publish date to include more info re: Selena Gomez’s health journey.
From a battle with lupus to dealing with mental health struggles while juggling life as a pop star, it’s no secret Selena Gomez has overcome many challenges since entering the limelight as a child actor on Barney & Friends. Early followers know her from her Disney days on Wizards of Waverly Place, but she’s since tackled albums, international tours, advocacy, a cooking show, and the founding of her own beauty brand, Rare Beauty.
During her rise and eventual career break, the “Lose You To Love Me” singer battled panic attacks, bouts of depression and anxiety, underwent a kidney transplant, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She made it through and has since remained a fierce advocate for mental health, inspiring many fans along the way to speak their truth and love themselves.
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In a new interview with Vogue this month, Gomez, 31, gave fans an update on her current health, and sweetly shared how her ten-year-old sister Gracie Elliott is one of her biggest outlets for feeling better. “I don’t feel good all the time,” she stressed to the outlet. Regarding her little sis, she added: “She reminds me of a perspective in life that can be a bit simpler and pure. Even just having a moment with her makes me feel better.”
The “Single Soon” artist also noted that spending time with her close friends, like Taylor Swift, have also impacted her mental health for the better. “I can gauge the difference between someone who wants to actually get to know me versus someone who just wants to know me as a person,” she revealed. “I’m grateful that I can tell.”
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Gomez also provided guidance for those who wish to support a loved one grappling with their own mental health challenge. “Start with listening. One of the key components of a friendship for me is trust. I would also say: Be careful with who you trust,” she noted. “Hopefully someone can just hear you out and not judge you. I believe in unconditional love and that if you can’t be your authentic self, maybe you shouldn’t be around those people.”
Selena Gomez's Autoimmune Disease Diagnosis
With her Disney days behind her, Gomez set out on her first solo concert tour for her debut album "Stars Dance" in 2013. She toured through North America and Europe but abruptly called off the end of the tour citing personal reasons. It was later revealed in an interview with Billboard that Gomez ended the tour early due to a lupus diagnosis, an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack healthy tissues. She sought treatment at a rehab facility in Arizona, where she underwent chemotherapy.
In the summer of 2016, the Only Murders In The Building star entered another solo concert tour in support of “Revival,” her second album. As depicted in the singer's Apple TV+ Documentary, My Mind & Me, Gomez was seen checking her blood pressure before performances, something she had to do so that she wouldn’t have a stroke, as she told her assistant in the film. We see her deal with negative self-talk on and off the stage which caused her to spiral. After 55 performances, she subsequently called off the tour early and checked into a treatment center again, this time for anxiety and depression exacerbated by her lupus.
The Only Murders actress later had a life-saving kidney transplant in the fall of 2017, announcing it via Instagram with a photo of her and fellow actress Francia Raisa, who donated her kidney to Selena.
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In the post, Gomez wrote: “I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of.” She continued, “So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you.”
Mental Health Advocacy
In early 2018, Gomez dealt with complications with her kidney transplant and was admitted to the hospital for a low white blood cell count. Undergoing an immense amount of stress over the complications with her health, Gomez admitted she had a mental breakdown at the hospital and ripped her IVs out, and eventually transferred to a psychiatric hospital where she was diagnosed and treated with bipolar disorder.
In her My Mind & Me documentary, she said, “I didn’t want to go to a mental health hospital, but I didn’t want to be trapped in myself, in my mind anymore.”
The star admitted that the diagnosis “explained so much” after battling years of anxiety and depression, in an interview with Elle. “I felt a huge weight lifted off me when I found out,” she said.
The singer-actress has always spoken out that with the platform that she has, she feels it is her mission to create change. The Rare Beauty founder noted that it is her dream to “save people’s lives through something, whether song music or just me speaking about the troubles I've gone through… that I can be a voice for others that maybe don't know what's going on or what they are feeling.”
Selena has been a UNICEF Ambassador since 2009 when she was just 17 years old, raising money and awareness and advocating for vulnerable children. She helped build schools for girls in Kenya and later went to visit the schools speaking about mental health, as depicted in her documentary. In 2020, the actress-turned-philanthropist created The Rare Impact Fund with a mission to raise $100 million to provide free mental health care to youth. She hosted a Youth Action Forum in 2022 with the White House, where she met with Joe Biden to discuss the creation of mental health curriculum in schools, a goal she discussed and previously doubted her potential to complete.
The star manages so much while still dealing with difficult complications every day she moves through life. In an interview with Australian Vogue in 2021, Gomez admitted she manages her mental health each day through dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), which she says “completely changed [her] life.” DBT helps patients with emotional disorders manage their stress and regulate their emotions through mindfulness skills. The practice also pulls from meditation practices, where individuals can train their attention to focus on the present moment and eliminate stressors.
Prioritizing Well-being
In addition to prioritizing her mental health through therapy, Selena has spoken out about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including exercise and a balanced diet. In a Billboard article, the Only Murders star noted that her key to staying healthy included “diet, routine, and medication,” plus keeping the right circle of friends.
More recently, after a supposed Internet feud between Selena and her ex’s wife Hailey Bieber, the star announced that she would be taking a break from social media. In an Instagram Live in February, she told fans, “I'm going to be taking a second from social media because this is a little silly. I'm 30, I'm too old for this.” She reassured her fans that this time she “couldn’t be happier” and has the “best friends, the best fans in the whole world.” She declared, “I love who I am.”
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We love to hear that, as the singer has admitted to constantly being in battle with her own mind. In her AppleTV+ documentary, she noted that while as much as her well-loved “Lose You To Love Me” track was about heartbreak (the track released after her split from ex Justin Bieber), it was also about rediscovering herself again. She said, “It’s about more than just a lost love, it’s me learning to choose myself, to choose life, and hoping people can find grace and peace in that too.” She noted that this battle and realization was the best thing to ever happen to her.
The Only Murders lead has battled not one, but two difficult diagnoses while being one of the most influential people in the world (she recently surpassed Kylie Jenner as the most followed person on Instagram). Through the health scares and emotional challenges, Selena continues to be an advocate for people outside herself, including others struggling with mental illnesses and the most vulnerable children in the world. It’s clear that she places a lot of pressure on herself, but with the work she’s done so far, there’s no doubt she’s changing millions of lives each day by speaking up and speaking loud.
