"Titles don't scare me anymore."
Selena Gomez has long been an advocate of mental health, from opening up about her own personal struggles with anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder to sharing her journey in her 2022 documentary My Mind & Me and starting multiple foundations, like the Rare Impact Fund and Wondermind, to support and encourage the mental well-being of others.
Now, she’s explaining that her candidness has also served as a way for her to take control of her narrative. “I define myself as a loving, caring and a person who genuinely wants to do anything to help out someone,” she told Hoda Kotb during an interview for the Today show. “I think life can get distracting and there’s so much noise.”
In fact, she added that being honest with the public about her mental illness has given her a sense of freedom. "Titles don't scare me anymore because I claimed my own story—and I felt freedom from it," she said.
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In a separate interview with Wondermind (the “mental fitness” ecosystem founded by her and her mother, Mandy Teefey), she also explained that talking about things like social anxiety help her and others to feel less alone.
"Sometimes, I know why I feel that way and other times I can’t explain where it is coming from," she said. "I am wired to just push through things, but I think also hearing other people in the room are feeling the same way helps make you feel like you aren’t alone. I am very happy we are all talking about these types of things now. It does make a difference to know you aren’t the only one."
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Despite avoiding alone time in the past, Gomez also explained that it's now something she values. "I used to hate to be alone," she explained. "I always had someone around me, but now I cherish my alone time. I find it’s a way for me to recharge."