More than a month ago, Selena Gomez’s Elle cover profile came out, and I read the whole thing – go here for my coverage. I was slightly surprised by some of what she said in the piece, because it felt like she was still dealing with a lot of emotional stuff, the same stuff she’s been dealing with for years, really. I noted that it feels like Selena has been in a constant state of “downsizing” her life and trying to get rid of the clutter, physically, emotionally and mentally. She moved out of LA (to Orange County), she got off social media, and she’s been trying to spend her time volunteering with worthy charities. But, as it turns out, she still had an emotional breakdown.
Selena Gomez is seeking treatment after suffering an emotional breakdown while in the hospital, a source confirms to PEOPLE. The 26-year-old “Wolves” singer was hospitalized twice within the last few weeks, both times for a low white blood cell count, which can be a side effect for kidney transplant patients.
During her second visit, Gomez suffered a panic attack. “She has had a tough few weeks and the panic attack in the hospital was the tipping point,” a source tells PEOPLE. “She realized she needed to seek additional help for her ongoing emotional issues. She’s surrounded by close family and has a lot of support. She’s doing better now and is seeking treatment on the East Coast.”
The singer is undergoing dialectical behavior therapy, a therapy method designed to help try to identify, and then change, negative thinking and behavioral patterns, the source says.
I can see how health issues and repeated hospitalizations would be the tipping point for someone who was (by her own admission) already in a fragile place this year. It does seem like she’s aware enough to seek treatment immediately, and the people around her are aware enough to encourage it. While no one really wants to say this… I also think Selena has had a rough year because of the Justin Bieber stuff, honestly. I hope she gets the helps she needs to feel better.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Wish the best for her and a smooth recovery.
I mean, I can’t imagine it helped that Bieber got married already when they were together this spring and it was causing issues with her family.
Chronic illness is deeply frustrating and difficult for anyone and almost certainly an added risk for those already dealing with mental health issues. It’s heartening she got help before things got out of hand or too public. I wish her well.
But FFS…how many doctors, nurses, paramedics, police officers, etc does TMZ have on their payroll?!? The constant violations of privacy are disgusting.
Everything you’re saying about TMZ is so true but this was a People report.
True this time. Harvey Levin is the devil. If he feels that he is empowering us by ruining marriages, and reporting on innocent people’s bad luck or worse, bad health he is wrong. He is hurtful and lacks a conscience. One of these days, someone will report on his misfortune and karma will come full circle.
The People story specifies that TMZ reported the news first and TMZ has the “Exclusive”. The People story came out because her handlers didn’t want TMZ to have the last word (understandable!).
Maia4s
Ah, makes sense. TMZ still equals garbage.
Harvey Levin and TMZ need a Ronan Farrow investigation. That bunch must have broken thousands of laws and have a warehouse full of damaging information on public figures.
#CDanToo. Especially with all the exploitative lying they do.
I agree. TMZ is so unethical and criminal.
@Otaku Fairy CDAN is the work of the devil.
People , tmz, every major media outlet lives for and from this. They create Superstars and destroy them.
I hope she finds some peace, lupus plus anxiety and depression, plus music business, it’s never gonna be easy. Her friend almost died. Her ex got married and looks like he’s on meth or something. I don’t think she’s not talking anything. You gotta ask yourself what makes all the young people in the business want to escape.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/22/inside-harvey-levins-tmz
Biebs and her childhood friend Demi nearly dying. It’s been rough.
I didn’t know much about her; was she this way before she met and started dating Justin B. or did this all develop during/after they were together. Most of her issues seem to kick in when she and he are over. That’s probably what her family saw. I just think this will continue. Justin knows she is that person he can always get back with at any point.
I mean both were teenagers when they started dating. Many mental illnesses manifest during teenage or young adult years. It is unfair to point fingers at another kid. Especially since Bieber himself seems to be struggling. Church and marriage stuff might be just him trying to latch onto something meaningful. You cannot love anybody’s disease away, including Selena’s.
My heart aches for her. Sometimes it seems we spend our life dodging bullets. Sending her positive thoughts and peace.
DBT – I sought that out for my daughter who had anxiety/panic attacks. But even therapists who said they did that didn’t. I’m sure she found one as her hands aren’t tied by insurance companies. Many have great success with that kind of therapy it seems.
Agreed about Bieber. Also Demi’s OD. Good for her and her people for immediately seeking help.
Does Selena have a mental health condition or is she emotional fragile? I know chronic diseases is extremely stressful but I feel like her personal life is what’s troubling her.
She’s got depression and anxiety
She has been physically fragile for years. That can do a number on you, even if originally emotionally healthy. She was dealing with the physical problems quite early. When your body is unreliable and can go nuts without warning, not surprising that emotional difficulties follow.
Panic attacks are basically physical in origin. They can seem to be due to emotional stress simply because stress is stress to the body and so emotional stress is just added on to any physical stress. So controlling the emotional stress will help reduce the panic attacks.
But I’ve had similar thankfully short-term reactions to gobs of perfume worn by someone coming into a small unventilated room or in one case when a bottle of such fragrance broke in the checkout line – I had to throw the money at my brother and run out of the store. That feeling of impending doom and heart rate through the roof and dizziness and shaking and balance issues did not come from my emotions, although I was pretty ticked with my fellow humans once I had recovered… One of the charms of feline roommates is that they do not wear artificial fragrances. (Natural odors, even skunk spray, do not bother me.)
Panic attacks can last for days in those susceptible to them. At least I know the source of such symptoms and can usually get away from the cause with just a headache and inflamed lungs for a day or two.
Every issue I’ve had with panic/anxiety as an adult has been health/illness/injury related, so this makes a lot of sense to me too. it sounds like she’s been dealing with a lot and it’s all just been building up on her.
I have issues with fragrance too, isn’t it just the worst how some people doused themselves in it? I get extremely congested and then a massive sinus headache. Candles are bad for me now too, and certain cleaning products, smoke, etc.
I get physically ill in seconds from fragrance also!!! It’s the devil and it’s so rude how people seem to bath in perfume. I can’t handle cookouts because campfire smoke does the same thing. Wood burning stoves, candles, In peoples homes. Cleaning products even!!! My husband understand but gets annoyed because he loves to have bonfires. I actually threw out all my over the counter cleaning products in my home early this year and only use natural cleaning products from a special website. None have hard smells and it’s been heaven to my nose. It’s hard because some people just think I’m being dramatic but a few minutes max in those bad smells and my next few days can be ruined!!! I also, since giving birth, hate small spaces or bumper to bumper traffic if I can’t see ahead of me. Say if a semi is in front of me and behind me I’m panic mode. Very strange how nothing like that bothered me until I became a mother.
Growing up as a child star just cannot be easy… I was never a fan of hers or Bieber or Demi (I’m too old and uninterested in that kind of music) but I have sympathy for all of them… Britney’s breakdown, the people who were in the Mickey Mouse club like her, the Disney kids, I think it’s just awful. Must be super hard to find out who you are yourself when people are constantly either TELLING you who you are or asking you to be someone you are not. Being young and famous must be like peer pressure times 10000, everybody wanting you to be something for them. Awful. I hope they all have better lives going forward!
Agreed. I think other factors like misogyny make young fame even more complicated because of the standards and fears that are pushed on them and the way people- whether they’re 35, 45, 55, 65, 75, etc,- feel entitled to react when these young girls and women don’t deliver. Another thing I’ve noticed is that men- and people in general- often seem to use economic inequality as an excuse for making wealthy marginalized groups their emotional punching bags. Kiera Knightley recently made some pretty accurate points on a THR podcast about how young women in the public eye are treated and some of the effects it can have on them- she even talked about how it contributed to a breakdown she was having at 22.
Its pretty sad.
Glad she has the resources to deal with her emotional issues.
I didnt know that she moved to the OC. I lived there and while it’s beautiful, that isn’t the place I would move for my mental, physical, and emotional well being. The OC can be a hard place to live. I would have moved further down the coast, maybe LaJolla or even out of the state entirely. I feel for her, and this truly may be exhaustion or something, but it truly seems like she is a bit lost. No amount of money or treatment will help you if you are intrinsically lost. You just have to work that sh*t out over time and kind of on your own.
I wish her all the best.
@Busyann – I lived in OC in my 20s and you are correct. It is not the healthiest place for anyone trying to get their head straight. And with a chronic disease like Lupus, with an organ transplant thrown in (for which she needs all the resources her body can pull from), added stress would be a big negative. Moving away from So. California could do her well.
I am trying to work out how she had a panic attack in the hospital? Because I started to once, and the nurses got a large dose of Ativan into my IV so fast. It was great actually, to mainline that level of relief. It shut it all down so fast.
Do they mean she started to have a panic attack and was treated? I’m just wondering how that all goes down. In my experience as someone with an anxiety disorder, the hospital was the best place to have a panic attack due to the instant help and relief. And no one suggested I should then be hospitalized for psychiatric reasons. A person with anxiety who is dealing with acute illness is very likely to have a panic attack, it’s normal.
It just makes me think she must have really really been struggling and it breaks my heart. She seems like such a kind and genuine woman
I think the point is that she started to panic in the first place. I’m sure they treated her medically in the hospital. Maybe she’s been having attack’s more often or this was her first?
The TMZ story specified that she ripped out her IV when she started to panic. Maybe she was resisting medication or taking out her IV just inadvertently delayed her getting them.
Oh OK thanks. Yes I thought more must have happened than just a panic attack during a medical issue, because like I said I think that’s fairly normal for anyone with anxiety.
It must really really suck to be going through this. I hope she can come out with peace and happiness and get the treatment she needs.
While I don’t suffer from anxiety I do suffer from panic attacks & though my episodes are sporadic & infrequent (luckily) they are scary. The episodes themselves have never been triggered by any certain event, like my last one literally happened in the street while I was taking a nice walk at a non-stressful time. That’s the thing w these attacks, they just hit w/o any reason & can take quite some time for me to come down. Idk if that’s the case w people who suffer from anxiety, if stress IS the trigger but if it is, given what she’s been through this year it would make a lot of sense. I’m sorry she has to go through this on top of everything else she has to deal with. I wish her all the best w her health & in her life
Same. Mine hit at random times while doing mundane things like watching TV or just relaxing. It’s like hitting a brick wall. One minute I’m fine, the next minute I think I’m dying. An overwhelming sense of impending doom. Dizzy, can’t breath, panic. And mine can last up to 2 hours. It’s horrible.
@Juls Ditto. The worst for me is the nausea – the great roiling waves of it, coupled with the inability to breathe, the head to foot trembles (sometimes when hands and feet inadvertently drum against the floor); all the while you’re trying to convince yourself that all is well, you won’t die from it, etc. I’m battling with c-PTSD right now and leaving the house can trigger a massive panic attack. Until someone has experienced one, they’re in no position to judge.
The best thing that can happen for her is for Bieber to get married and move on b/c she doesn’t need that d-bag in her life. Poor kid, sending good vibes her way.
I agree, Mellie. I relate with Selena because my first love kind of pulled a Justin on me back in the days. We were together for years, it wasn’t always working very well, I suggested a break and the next week he had a new girlfriend who became pregnant the month after that. That was ROUGH, but that helped me a lot to move on, I mean she was having his baby, there was nothing to do about it all. I remember how bad I felt, thinking I was so easily replaçable after all these years, thinking the relationship meant nothing… but I healed and I’m happy I stopped losing my time with that story that wasn’t for me. I wish the same outcome to Selena. Enough with the Biebs, she’s been there, done that.
Ugh. I’m so sorry. I have three girls and we’ve been through the boyfriend break-ups. It’s rough, and social media doesn’t make it any easier. In the old days, you didn’t know what everyone was doing all the time, it was much easier to move on because five minutes after you broke up you didn’t see your ex on snap chat with another girl. I would hate to be single right now. Thank goodness for my sweet husband. He’s the best.
I’ve had my heart broken into a million pieces in a relationship similar to Selena’s and I really feel her pain.
Wow. Did he ever reach out to you afterwards?
@Star, yeah! He wanted to keep me on the side!! He wasn’t so happy with his new gf, he missed the complicity we had, blah blah blah, and a whole lot of bs like that. I was disgusted. Like bitch what did you expect conceiving with people you met 5 minutes ago. It was like I never knew the real him. Plus, when their baby arrived, he fckn euthanized the dog we raised together (he was his and that’s why he was with him, I had my own dog that stayed with me) because his gf couldn’t stand my poor innocent doggy who I would have got back with me in a heartbeat if that mofo told me he couldn’t keep him and was going to do that. He did this to hurt me and man it did. I cut him off and never looked back. I’m not the type to hold a grudge but this I will never forgive. Let me tell you that taught me all I needed to know about relationships, separations, and every animal who I share a life with is mine on paper since that day.
My poor dog was the nicest, sweetest rottie ever. He was murdered 12 years ago, I will never forget him.
Chronic illness will sometimes do this. I hope she gets better and can work through what’s ailing her (mantally). xoxo
I feel terrible for her and her chronic illness. It can’t be easy having to deal with that and then get dolled up and act like everything is fine at award shows and premieres.
I don’t want this to come off as mean or judgemental, but she seems to be extremely emotionally fragile. These internal battles just seem never ending for her, and her interviews always come off so intense with drama after it’s published about how she was quoted, etc. I wonder if she has some sort of mental disorder she hasn’t disclosed to the public. Or it could just be part of her illness. Regardless, I’m glad she and her family are immediately getting her the help she needs. I feel bad — she just seems to struggle so much and seems like she has been trying to make all sorts of lifestyle changes to improve her life, and it’s not helping.
Agreed. The stress of life in the public eye on top of her dealing with a very real, life-threatening medical problem early in life has got to be hard for someone with anxiety issues.
She’s doing dbt? I thought that was primarily for people with borderline, and that most other people did cbt (cognitive behavioral therapy), but I could definitely be wrong. If she does have borderline, I can image it would make the stressors of being famous almost unbearable.
@Hmmm CBT is completely ineffective if you have significant and/or complex trauma, the equivalent of a bandaid on a gunshot wound.
Yeah I’ve only ever heard about DBT with borderline personality disorder too. C-PTSD and BPD can appear very similar though.
Girl needs to go away and deal with her life. But she won’t. She likes the fame too much.
and drugs and alcohol.
🙄
Someday I’ll be able to tell Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato apart.
Today is not that day.
This industry really does a number on some female child stars-i have a hunch both she and demi kavato wouldnt have had as many issues like this. Being famous sounds awful-i have enough body image issues from my mother i cant imagine how much worse it would femous
As someone who has a lifelong chronic illness that causes me daily pain and exhaustion, I can tell you that the illness itself causes the emotional and mental issues. I’m not sure it’s fair to say she has emotional problems and then her illness added to that. Her white blood cell count went down which means her immune system is back to attacking her body and probably attacking her new kidney. She may not have long to live. That would put anyone in a “fragile emotional state.”
On top of seeing her recent BF get hastily married to someone else, the recent pics of the Weeknd and Bella looking very lovie dovie must have also hit hard. Selena put on an act of living her best life after Bieber and Baldwin got engaged. Maybe she couldn’t hide the hurt anymore. She’s young. Sad to see anyone struggling like that. Wish her well.
Spending your entire young life chasing a guy who doesn’t care about you, having your fame depend on that, and trying to build a career in Hollywood while having zero discernible talent can be extremely stressful. She definitely needs to take an extended break.