Justin Bieber found talking about his substance abuse "cathartic".
Justin Bieber
The 26-year-old singer opened up about his battle with drug addiction during his YouTube Originals series 'Justin Bieber: Seasons', where he also revealed he has been diagnosed with Lyme disease.
And now, the documentary's director Michael Ratner has said having an opportunity to speak about his health helped the 'Yummy' hitmaker come to terms with his progress.
Speaking to MTV News, Michael said: "I think the conversations about the more difficult times in his life were cathartic. At one point, he thought the cameras were off and he goes, 'You know, this feels so good. I didn't think I was mature enough to share,' and I said, 'Have you talked about this?' and he said, 'No, not really. I just wasn't there yet.'
"For a long time he was cooped up in his mind and in this echo chamber. He's human and he's living a real life, whether having Lyme disease or when he was talking about being put on lithium when he shouldn't have been. If Justin Bieber's looking to seek that help, maybe you will as well."
Michael believes Justin is "the guinea pig of the social media era", and says the star has done a "fantastic job" of showing other young stars how to navigate fame online.
He added: "Justin is the first global mega-star to grow up and be the guinea pig of the social-media era and the internet in general. I think he's done a pretty fantastic job of [creating] a blueprint on how to handle that."
Meanwhile, the director previously claimed Justin had found parts of his documentary series "tough" to watch back, especially the scenes that included his past drug use and health struggles.
Michael said: "Once we watched episode five together and he was just staring at it and he said, 'This is tough ... There's power in weakness.' I thought when he said that, he said, 'The very reason why it's sometimes uncomfortable for me to watch, that is the reason I want it out there.' "
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