Selena Gomez opens up on her mental health journey, says 'you can't force someone' to treat it before they're ready

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Selena Gomez candidly discussed her journey towards mental well-being and self-love.

During her appearance on a SXSW panel called 'Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health' along with her mother Mandy Teefey, who is also the co-founder of Wondermind, Selena talked about her mental health transformation.

Selena Gomez says it 'makes me sick' to hear the things she said about herself

The conversation moderated by Dr Jessica Stern delved into the discussion of the release of Gomez's 2022 Apple TV+ documentary 'My Mind & Me.'

The films sheds light on mental health and how Gomez changed the way she treated herself. "It makes me sick to hear the things that I was saying about myself in the beginning. It bums me out," she shared, noting that the documentary was filmed over six years.

"But I think everybody can relate to that feeling. It's important to speak to yourself with kindness, but I don't think I really understood that [at the start of the film]," she added.

Directed by Alek Keshishian, 'My Mind & Me' explored Gomez's mental health struggles which included suicidal thoughts that led to the cancellation of a tour and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, her body image issues, experiences with lupus and the burnout she faced as a world-renowned music icon.

Selena Gomez says she felt like she did not 'fit in' the entertainment industry

The 'Only Murders in the Building' star revealed that a conversation with her 47-year-old mother Teefey inspired her to share her mental health journey.

After they watched the 1999 film 'Girl, Interrupted', Gomez and Teefey discussed the challenges of navigating the entertainment industry and how the singer felt like she did not "fit in."

The 'Love You Like A Love Song' singer further discussed the importance of knowing the right time to seek help.

She acknowledged that "you can't force someone" to take an in-depth view of their mental health to be able to treat it before they are ready.

"There was a lot of people that cared about me more than I cared about myself that really wanted me to do things I wasn't ready for," said Gomez.

"I had my rock bottom, and I had to do it in my time. It took a couple of tries, but I like to think and hope I'm in a much better place now," she added.

In December 2021, the singer and her mother founded Wondermind, an online community providing a safe space for people to open up about their mental health struggles, according to People.