Los Angeles, March 5 – Hollywood star Selena Gomez revealed that she was initially "misdiagnosed" before finally receiving a diagnosis for her bipolar disorder.
Selena shared this information during an appearance on the March 3 episode of the "Friends Keep Secrets" podcast, alongside her husband, Benny Blanco.
The 33-year-old singer-actress said: "I knew something was wrong, but I think I was misdiagnosed."
She added: "People were just assuming, and I would try multiple therapists. And that's why it's so difficult. It's actually really hard when we're talking about these things. And for me to go and see a therapist, it's all so complicated."
Going on to explain that finding the right diagnosis and treatments took "multiple different people," Selena emphasized how important it was to remember that "you can't just give up," according to people.com.
While attending "four different rehabs" ultimately helped Selena better understand her diagnosis, Blanco noted that she would still occasionally "have moments where she's experiencing mania, and she doesn't realize it."
"She'll start to realize she's experiencing it after it happens, and sometimes she doesn't even remember when it happens," said the record producer, who married Gomez in September.
"It's such a delicate situation because you're not supposed to technically talk about it with that person while they're in the midst of it. And it's like, even dating her, and she's so hyper-aware, she'll say, 'I think I'm feeling a little manic.'"
In response, she made it clear that these "moments of mania" are never something she's ashamed of.
"I'm not ashamed at all because I can catch them a bit quicker. But it's helpful to have a partner who understands where things are at and meets you where you are, and then you gradually understand what's happening."
As time goes on and she continues to better understand how her bipolar disorder affects her everyday life, the "Calm Down" singer said that she's been able to live her life more "freely" than ever before.
"That's the problem with misconceptions," Gomez said.
"The whole hypocrisy of shaming people for therapy or people not understanding it is that it's just not for you. That's completely fine, but for me, it finally allowed me to go, 'Oh, that's why I handled things the way I handled it. That's why all the other people were able to get over things so quickly and I wasn't.'"
"I would act out of fear, I would act out of love, I would act out of passion," she added. "It was all inconsistent, it was crazy."
