In 2018, Selena Gomez is taking control of her health.
Looking stunning and rocking blonde hair on the March cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Gomez opened up about her struggles with her mental health and Lupus. The star was interviewed by Katherine Langford, the breakout actress of the Gomez-produced Netflix hit, 13 Reasons Why. Langford plays Hannah Baker, a teenager who dies by suicide and leaves behind tapes detailing the reasons she made the decision. The show stirred up some controversy, with people saying that it justified suicide as an answer, while others commended the program for opening up a healthy conversation about mental health.
In addition to her 2017 hits like “Wolves,” and “Bad Liar,” Gomez was also the most-followed person on Instagram last year. She has a whopping 133 million followers, but her reign on social media isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
“I have a complex relationship with Instagram, to say the least. It has given me a voice amid all the noise of people trying to narrate my life for me and allows me to say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna post this, and this is gonna take care of the 1,200 stories that people think are interesting but actually aren’t, and aren’t even true.’ So it empowers me in that way because it’s my words and my voice and my truth,” she said in the magazine interview. “The only thing that worries me is how much value people our age place on social media. It’s an incredible platform, but in a lot of ways it’s given young people, myself included, a false representation of what’s important. So, yeah, it’s a complex relationship. Probably one of my most difficult relationships.”
When asked if she thinks that 2018 will be a better year for herself than 2017 was, Gomez opened up about her struggles with mental health, giving herself the room to struggle, and putting her own needs first.
“I’m going to say yes because I believe that for myself,” she said. “And anyone who knows me knows I will always start with my health and my well-being. I’ve had a lot of issues with depression and anxiety, and I’ve been very vocal about it, but it’s not something I feel I’ll ever overcome. There won’t be a day when I’m like, ‘Here I am in a pretty dress—I won!’ I think it’s a battle I’m gonna have to face for the rest of my life, and I’m okay with that because I know that I’m choosing myself over anything else.”
Gomez continued, “I’m starting my year off with that thought. I want to make sure I’m healthy. If that’s good, everything else will fall into place. I don’t really set goals ’cause I don’t want to be disappointed if I don’t reach them, but I do want to work on my music too. My next album has been forever in the making. When people ask me why, I’m honest about it: It’s because I haven’t been ready. I mean, point-blank, I don’t feel confident enough in where my music is yet. If that takes 10 years, then it takes 10 years. I don’t care. Right now I just want to be super intentional with all of the things I’m doing.”
If you’re excited for Gomez to release new music this year, though — don’t hold your breath.
“My next album has been forever in the making. When people ask me why, I’m honest about it: It’s because I haven’t been ready. I mean, point-blank, I don’t feel confident enough in where my music is yet. If that takes 10 years, then it takes 10 years. I don’t care,” she says. “Right now I just want to be super intentional with all of the things I’m doing.”
Although, a little birdy (AKA the Twitter bird) DID tell us that Gomez and Zayn Malik might be collaborating on a song for the new live-action Aladdin film.
For now, it’s good to hear that Gomez is focusing on herself, her health and controlling her own narrative.