Singer and actor Selena Gomez just shared some advice for dealing with tough mental health days. Gomez, 29, has been through a lot in the last several years. In 2015, she received chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lupus, a chronic inflammatory autoimmune condition that attacks body tissues and organs. Two years later, she shared with fans that she'd had a kidney transplant after the condition caused her kidneys to shut down. And in 2020, she revealed she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. She's also been open about her struggles with anxiety and depression.
So when she shared her go-to strategies for bad mental health days earlier this week, fans were listening. Gomez was asked how she takes care of her mind and responded on the Instagram account for Wondermind, the mental health platform she is co-launching in February 2022.
"Sometimes I'm not good at it," she confessed. "Like, it just happens where I'll wake up and I just, I struggle, you know, maybe sometimes it's just getting out of bed."
Her number one strategy on those days? "What helps me first and foremost, just picking up the phone and calling someone," she said.
She also puts effort into learning about herself so that she can better understand what's affecting her mood. "I constantly tried to fill myself with knowledge of what it is that I'm feeling and triggers that happen to me," she said. "So I think what really helps me understand myself a bit more is that I can, you know, take a step back and think of all the tools I've learned and try to implement them in my everyday life. That's usually what helps me."
Last, she's found that finding a way to sweat has been helpful. "Also, I suggest working out," she said. "I hate working out, it is not fun, but I've been doing like intense boxing classes recently, and it has really helped me get a lot of frustration but also just energy out, and it feels so good."
Plenty of research has shown that exercise can have significant mental health benefits. As SELF has written about previously, there are so many ways to move joyfully, and it will look different for everybody. Figuring out what you physically love to do can leave you feeling energized and powerful. And if you need more ideas for how to handle tough mental health days, here are SELF's 50 best tips for improving your mental health.
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