Selena Gomez feels "sick" when she looks back at how she used to view herself.
Selena Gomez is kinder to herself now
The 'Only Murders in the Building' actress admitted it "bums [her] out" to look back on how critical she was on herself when she was younger and it has taken time to realise how important it is to "speak to yourself with kindness".
Asked if her 2022 documentary 'My Mind and Me' - which was filmed over six years and detailed how she struggled with confidence issues, suicidal thoughts that led to her bipolar disorder diagnosis and burnout - had changed how she treated herself, Selena admitted on a SXSW panel titled 'Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health': "It makes me sick to hear the things that I was saying about myself in the beginning. It bums me out.
"But I think everybody can relate to that feeling.
"It's important to speak to yourself with kindness, but I don't think I really understood that [at the start of the film]."
The 31-year-old singer-and-actress explained she was inspired to be more open about her struggles after she watched 'Girl, Interrupted' with her mom, Mandy Teefey, and it prompted a discussion on the strangeness of the entertainment industry and how Selena felt she didn't "fit in".
The 'Lose You to Love Me' singer noted it is impossible to "force someone" to treat mental health problems before they are ready.
She reflected: "There was a lot of people that cared about me more than I cared about myself that really wanted me to do things I wasn't ready for. I had my rock bottom, and I had to do it in my time.
"It took a couple of tries, but I like to think and hope I'm in a much better place now."
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