Camila Cabello has come so far when it comes to her mental health, and she’s ready to share her tips and tricks with the world — and more importantly with Selena Gomez!
The singer sat down for the May cover shoot of Wondermind, the new mental health initiative which Selena co-founded with her mother, Mandy Teefey, and other partners. It’s already off to a great start with Camila as a guest. The Havana singer discussed everything from how anxiety makes her body feel to the best advice she ever received from her therapist.
Related: Selena Gomez Has A Message For Haters Who ‘Bitch About’ Her Weight!
To begin, the 25-year-old opened up about struggling with “overwhelming” anxiety, sharing:
“In the moment, everything feels dizzying and overwhelming and like you’re on this ride thinking, ‘Just help me get off.’ In my mind, it’s a loop, like obsessive-compulsive stuff. In my body, it’s a tightness, almost like I can’t move, like my hands are tied and everything is just tied up.”
Sadly, she felt too ashamed to ask for help throughout most of her life when these emotions would arise. She continued:
“I felt really anxious even talking about those things because I think before I went on that journey I was almost scared to be found out, like, ‘This is weird, my brain is broken, this isn’t normal.’”
Of course, Camila later realized that most people struggle with some form of mental health challenges from time to time, they just aren’t opening up about it in public. On the stigma that older generations continue to uphold, the Fifth Harmony alum said later in the interview:
“I feel like it [the stigma] exists even more in the older generations. People like my parents’ age have such shame about needing therapy or feeling anxiety. The stigma around saying that you need help is something that frustrates me because sometimes people can be like, ‘No, I don’t need that, I just need free time,’ or whatever.”
While she knows relaxation can go a long way in making someone feel better, she doesn’t think that’s a good excuse to avoid therapy, adding:
“Obviously that’s valid, but just because you’re in therapy doesn’t mean something is more wrong with you than other people. We all have things that we could work on, we all have tools that we could learn, and it doesn’t mean that you’re ‘crazy’ or ill.”
Nobody should feel ashamed for getting help to be their best self!
Related: Stress Almost Killed Chelsea Handler! LITERALLY!
Innerestingly, Camila has been encouraged by her therapist to always keep it real, especially when she’s having an off day, something that isn’t always easy — but she’s found to be so important:
“I think the best mental health advice that I’ve ever received is that faking or pretending is the worst thing for my mental health, personally. Saying the truth and being vulnerable and talking about it is basically what my therapist says to me in every session.”
All this honesty seems to be working. Last month, the songwriter told PEOPLE (The TV Show!)’s Kay Adams that she was at her lowest while making her new album Familia, revealing:
“I was cripplingly anxious and was in the worst mental health state ever. And then I took a break at the beginning of the pandemic. I started doing therapy [and] trying to feel better.”
She hasn’t let up since. The Cuban-American performer often hops on social media to share her candid thoughts on body positivity, mental health, and other important causes near and dear to her heart which seems to have helped her get out of that low place. Selly G is, of course, no stranger to that either — so it seems fitting they’re teaming up! But not just for work!
Last month, Selena posted a TikTok of the duo just hanging out lip-synching to Dance Moms — like ya do!
@selenagomez @Camila Cabello ♬ And then there were two – Daniel Galiley
LOVE these two together! Thoughts, Perezcious readers?
[Image via Selena Gomez/Camila Cabello/Instagram]