Selena Gomez opens up on battling bipolar disorder. What is the condition?

“I never had full awareness or answers about this condition. When I have more information, it actually helps me," Selena Gomez said.




During an Instagram Live on Friday, singer Selena Gomez opened up about suffering from bipolar disorder. She was talking to singer Miley Cyrus and shared that she recently discovered this, and is no longer scared about the condition.

“I went to one of the best mental hospitals in America, McClean Hospital, and I discussed that after years of going through a lot of different things, I realised that I was bipolar, I was equal parts terrified and relieved – terrified because the veil was lifted but relieved that I finally had the knowledge of why I had suffered with various depressions and anxieties for so many years,” she said.

“I never had full awareness or answers about this condition. When I have more information, it actually helps me, it doesn’t scare me once I know it,” she added. The live was part of Cyrus’ series Bright Minded where she speaks to various people.

@eltonjohn, @kerrywashington, @selenagomez, @jimmyfallon join Bright Minded: Live with Miley for the finale episode! Connecting w/ special guests discussing how to stay LIT with love in dark times! ?

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What is bipolar disorder?

“Bipolarity is a mood disorder which is characterised by mood swings. there are two phases of bipolarity — bipolar mania and the depressive phase. In the mania phase, a person is generally highly overactive. He/she does not sleep much and the cardinal symptom is that there is a lack of sleep. Even if you’ve slept for one to two hours you will feel fresh. You are full of energy you are very restless, you can’t sit in one place and you want to do too many things at one time, your concentration level varies. But at the same time, there are also situations where you are irritable, and can get very angry at the slightest things,” Dr Ekta Soni, chief clinical psychologist, Apollo Indraprastha Hospital said.

She further added, “The other phase is the depressive phase where your mood is low. You don’t feel like doing anything. There is not much interest in anything and you do not want to get out of bed. You might oversleep, you do not feel like doing things of daily activities like taking a bath and maintaining personal hygiene. One of the cardinal symptoms is sleep.”

However, she cautions against using it loosely. “These days many people are experiencing mood swings due to lock down which might not be a clinical disorder. So one has to be very careful before we start labeling people as bipolar.”

When should you seek help?

Dr Soni feels if the symptoms persist then one should go to the doctor. “If there is a lack of sleep and a significant change in the person’s personality for more than four weeks then one is advised to consult a doctor.”

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