Mental Illness in the Media: Selena Gomez on Making Bipolar Disorder Her “Friend”
I am not necessarily the target audience of artists like Selena Gomez. Maybe aside from one of her songs on the radio or her role in shows like "Only Murders in the Building," she's not necessarily on my pop culture radar. However, when her new documentary "Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me" came up on Apple TV+, I felt compelled to watch what this might be all about.
The documentary starts by showing a public figure whose life is constantly being watched, who goes through processes that most of us go through, albeit not in the public eye, work pressure, breakups, family life...
In the case of people like Selena, this goes beyond closed ones; it's a matter of paparazzi, news, blogs, fans, etc.
Yet, there's something that changes the whole dynamic during the process. Soon enough, we see Selena going through significant mood changes; she doesn't want to get out of bed, is not "engaged" with the world around her, and doesn't seem to be understood by even her closest friends because "she has it all" (so what's she complaining about?).
“When you’re struggling with mental health, the essential part of it is knowing what to do and recognizing that it’s something that I’m not ashamed of.” Selena Gomez
This is the life of somebody living with mental health issues. The world inside and outside are not always in sync, not even connected at times; the emotions are real; hence the inner voices, the self-inadequacy, and the feeling of not belonging or not deserving are what take front stage, despite what others might say to the contrary.
Soon enough, we see Selena lost in her thoughts, unable to make sense of herself and the world around her, yet feeling guilty because she has so much that she “has no right” not to feel fulfilled.
By 2018, Selena tells Rolling Stone Magazine, she heard voices, and “as these voices got louder and louder, they drowned out more and more of the natural world, so much so that they triggered an episode of psychosis.”
In 2020 Selena was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. With this knowledge, she started a journey of self-understanding that will lead her to reconnect with herself, her childhood roots, and her loved ones and to make peace with herself and her mind.
Selena’s film is raw and direct but also honest, as Rolling Stones puts it: “One of the least sugarcoated explorations of mental illness one is likely to find on film,” and that fact makes it so much easier to connect with. We all can relate to the vulnerability of not being understood, and some of us to the angst of not understanding ourselves and why we feel the way we do.
“My Mind and Me” is not only a film but also a mirror in which those of us who live with a mental illness and those of us who have loved ones living with mental illness can feel reflected; this could easily be a live-saving experience for those who struggle because they can see that recovery is possible.
In the words of Selena Gomez: “It took a lot of hard work for me to (a) accept that I was bipolar, but (b) learn how to deal with it because it wasn’t going to go away.”
‘Hey, you’re not a bad person, you’re not a gross person, you’re not crazy, you’re not any of this, but you’re gonna have to deal with this. I know it’s a lot, but this is the reality.” -Selena Gomez
As part of her self-discovery process, Selena also learned that connection and service are powerful tools that save her from the temptation of isolation and shame and also make talking about mental illness the normal conversation that it is supposed to be, without stigmas and sense of “being broken,” the knowledge of one’s inner process becomes then a light that can show the path to recovery.
As Selena puts it: “When you’re struggling with mental health, the essential part of it is knowing what to do and recognizing that it’s something that I’m not ashamed of. I had to relearn things that completely fell out of my mind.
It was like, ‘Hey, you’re not a bad person, you’re not a gross person, you’re not crazy, you’re not any of this, but you’re gonna have to deal with this. I know it’s a lot, but this is the reality.”
“I found that having a relationship with bipolar and myself, it’s… it’s gonna be there. I’m just making it my friend now.”
Carlos Frick
Communications & Advocacy Manager
NAMI Racine County