Selena Gomez Talks Being Bipolar on Miley Cyrus's Instagram Live

• While appearing on Miley Cyrus's Instagram Live chats on Friday, Selena Gomez revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
• The singer added that learning more about her diagnosis helped dismantle the fear she held for it.
• According to researchers, about 4.4 percent of U.S. adults are affected by bipolar disorder at some point in their lives.

While talking with Miley Cyrus on Instagram Live on Friday, Selena Gomez revealed for the first time that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

She divulged that she recently went to McLean's Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts known for its authority and expertise in neuroscience research. "After years of going through a lot of different things, I realized that I was bipolar,” Selena said. “So when I go to know more information, it actually helps me. It doesn’t scare me once I know it. And I think people get scared of that.”

The stigma of mental health problems was an obstacle she had to overcome. “I’ve seen it, and I’ve seen some of it even in my own family, where I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ I’m from Texas. It’s not known to talk about your mental health," she told Cyrus. "You’ve got to seem cool, and then I see anger built up in teenagers and young adults because they are wanting that so badly. I just feel like, when I finally said what I was gonna say, I wanted to know everything about it and it took the fear away.”

In recent years, Gomez has been open about living with mental health issues. Last year, while accepting the 2019 McLean Award at the McLean Hospital for her work on destigmatizing the public perception of mental health, she said, "It felt like all of my pain and my anxiety washed over me all at once, and it was one of the scariest times of my life. I sought support and the doctors were able to give me a clear diagnosis. The moment that I received that emotion, I actually felt equal parts terrified and relieved. Terrified, obviously, because the veil was lifted but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I suffered for so many years with depression and anxiety."

About 4.4 percent of U.S. adults will experience the effects of bipolar disorder in their lifetimes, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset. 

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