By Thania Figueroa/Staff Writer 

Selena Gomez is a singer, actress and influencer. I have been listening to her music since elementary school and have been watching her on television since I could remember, from ‘Barney & Friends’ to ‘Wizards of Waverly Place.’

Selena Gomez’s documentary ‘My Mind & Me’ highlights the inside scoop of her life, more specifically, the hard times she had battling depression, anxiety, lupus and a kidney transplant. 

“Let me make you a promise…I’ll only tell you my darkest secrets,” Gomez said at the beginning of the documentary. 

Coming from someone well known, this is very real of her to show her true emotions and vulnerability to the world. 

Gomez’s relationships have always been talked about all over the media, especially her relationship with Justin Bieber. Growing up, ‘Jelena’ was a big deal and everyone shipped them as a couple, including myself. After the breakup, it seemed like no one wanted to let it go, even today.

This film showed how paparazzi bombarded her with questions about what happened with Bieber and how he is now in a new relationship with Hailey Bieber. 

It shows how depressed she was, having mental breakdowns before performing on tour and expressing herself to her team. Gomez is just like us, struggling with problems, and she is not afraid to show it. After 55 performances into ‘The Revival Tour,’ she canceled and all of these feelings were getting in the way of her career. 

Taking a break from what needs to be done is okay. It is what she needed to do at that time, and I believe that it is normal. She needed to take care of herself, her body and her mind and she did not owe anyone an apology or explanation. 

In 2016, she was diagnosed with lupus and eventually had a kidney transplant. In 2019, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The way she got through it was learning more about bipolar disorder and taking it day by day.

I really liked this part of the documentary because I believe that it can help others, not only struggling with bipolar disorders, but other disorders like depression and anxiety. She explained that learning more about it made her fear it less.

Overall, I liked this documentary because it showed Gomez’s dark side, something that people try to hide from everyone else. For someone famous like Gomez, I feel like speaking up and talking about daily struggles is so helpful to those who look up to them. It gives individuals a sense of not being or feeling alone because everyone goes through struggles, even if it seems like they do not have any. 

Again, for someone like Gomez, who has fame, fortune, and so many people by her side, there were times when she was sad, felt alone, felt like she was not good enough and it shows that everyone goes through times like these. 

Gomez took some time away from acting and music. She decided to go to a treatment center and realized that what made her happy was connection. 

After this break, she started making music again. She explained the depth of one of her songs, which was the part I related to most in the documentary.

In this song, she explained that it was about choosing herself and choosing life. Finding peace and grace was very important to her after a time of darkness. She explained completely losing herself and then rediscovering herself. She said the heartbreak needed to happen in order for growth. 

I loved how vulnerable Gomez was throughout the documentary. I felt like I could relate to some of her struggles, and I think others will relate as well. Everyone goes through the pains of heartbreak, has feelings of not being good enough and I believe this song can help cope with these feelings. 

Not only does this documentary show that we are not alone in our struggles, Gomez created a fund to raise $100 million for free mental health resources. She also attended a Youth Action Forum this year at the White House for mental health. She met with the president and discussed ways to create mental health curriculums for schools all over the nation.

This shows that Gomez truly cares about other individuals’ mental health and wants to help, just like how others helped her. 

If you have been a fan of Selena Gomez or struggle with mental health, I suggest watching this documentary. It shows Gomez’s true feelings and ways of coping with being in the dark.