Selena Gomez shares bipolar diagnosis on Miley Cyrus' Instagram Live talk show

Even in quarantine, Selena Gomez is connecting with fans by sharing her truth — this time about her mental health.

The Rare singer went on Miley Cyrus’ Instagram Live talk show Bright Minded (after connecting with her old friend through a DM of a butterfly emoji) and opened up to her fellow former Disney Channel star with the news that she’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

“Recently, I went to one of the best mental hospitals in the world, but definitely in America, McLean’s Hospital, and I discussed that after years of going through a lot of different things, I realized that I was bipolar,” Gomez said. “And so, when I got to know more information, it actually helps me. It doesn’t scare me once I know it. And I think people get scared of that, right?”

Gomez compared learning about her mental health to a childhood memory: “When I was younger, I was scared of thunderstorms, and my mom bought me all these different books on thunderstorms,” she told Cyrus. “She said, ‘the more that you educate yourself on this, the more that you’re not going to be afraid.’ And it completely worked.”

The pair had been talking about dealing with the emotional toll of life in quarantine, with Gomez becoming emotional thinking of her grandparents, saying she’s donating a portion of her merch sales to causes like hospitals, and quoting a line from scripture that has reassured her. She emphasized the importance of communicating with people through the crisis.

“Being there for other people actually helps me too,” Gomez said. “But sometimes I have to feel it, Miley. Sometimes I gotta cry it out and I’ve got to release it and just take a deep breath and then remind myself, go back to my tools, which is, okay, where is this coming from? I understand I’m a big empath, so I feel so much of what the world is feeling, so maybe I need to take a step back from that, or whatever it is.”

Cyrus launched Bright Minded on March 17 to "bring light into dark times.” Before Gomez, Elton John and Kerry Washington appeared on Cyrus’ Friday episode; previous installments have featured Demi Lovato, Hilary Duff, Reese Witherspoon, and more. Cyrus touted Friday’s show as Bright Minded’s “finale,” though “this is not for sure the finale episode,” she said. “As big networks call it, I’m just taking a hiatus.”

Fans will probably see Cyrus on Bright Minded sooner than the pop stars can see each other again in person, but Cyrus encouraged Gomez to “send me butterflies anytime” as they both signed off. “When all this has moved on and we can connect, we’ll just hug.”

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