Selena Gomez doesn’t love giving advice about how to have a good mental health day, but when it comes to seeking it out she knows just where to go. “Spending time with my little sister, Gracie [Teefey],” Gomez told her mental health organization Wondermind about her preferred way to spend a contemplative day. “She’s so innocent and pure. She helps me keep perspective on life. It’s funny because she’s 10; I am 31, and even with such a big age gap I love her advice. She is very wise.”
Tuesday (Oct. 10) is World Mental Health Day and Gomez, Wondermind’s co-founder and chief impact officer, said she can tell during the first 10 minutes of the day what is coming. “Sometimes I just must accept it’s going to be a bad day and that’s OK,” she said. “We all have bad days.”
Gracie has been a frequent companion on the red carpet alongside her sister — as well as her +1 at Taylor Swift concerts and the Golden Globes — and even though the Rare Beauty cosmetics boss has no problem turning to her younger sibling for advice, she isn’t that into doling it out herself.
“I don’t love giving advice because I don’t have all of the answers,” said Gomez, who opened up about the depths of her battles with depression and bipolar disorder in last year’s Apple TV+ doc Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me. “I’d say, though, find a friend or a family member you feel comfortable talking with and open up about what you are feeling. It’s very freeing to open up to someone. There is so much strength in being vulnerable.”
Gomez said that the biggest positive impact on her mental health has been her decision to be open about her struggles, which resulted in people reaching out to share their stories with her. “Listening and connecting was the biggest gift because you feel less alone” she told Wondermind, adding that she’s happy that more people are open to discussing their mental health struggles than when she was younger.
Dubbing herself a “work in progress” who doesn’t “have it all figured out,” Gomez said she’s a big believer in DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) a type of talk therapy that works well for people who have very intense emotions by helping them learn how to change unhelpful behaviors.
Asked for her favorite daily affirmation, Gomez, said “this too shall pass.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
