Lady Gaga is opening up about one of her biggest mental health struggles.
“I had psychosis,” the Abracadabra singer revealed in a candid sit-down with the New York Times’ The Interview podcast, released over the weekend.
She said of her mental health episode, which happened around five years ago, that she was “not deeply in touch with reality for a while”, recalling: “It took me out of life in a big way, and after a lot of years of hard work I got myself back.”
Gaga – whose legal name is Stefani Germanotta – said that she is finding that period of her life “increasingly harder to talk about”.
“I hate feeling defined by it. It felt like something I felt ashamed of,” the Oscar winner admitted.
“But I don’t think that we should feel ashamed if we go through times like that. I mostly just wish to say, it can get better. It did for me, and I’m grateful for that.”
Gaga added that her fiancé, Michael Polansky, helped encourage her during this turbulent time.
“When I met Michael, I was in a much better place, but I remember him saying to me, pretty early on, ‘I know you could be a lot happier than you are’,” Gaga shared.
“It was really hard for me to hear him say that because I didn’t want him to think that of me,” she explained, adding that she “wanted him to think I was like this happy, totally together person”.
During Gaga’s press tour for her upcoming album, Mayhem, the singer has disclosed a lot about her relationship with Michael.
In an interview with Good Morning America, for example, Gaga shared the ultra-direct question she asked him before their first date.
“Michael flew to Vegas when I was doing my show to take me on our first date, and before we even sat down, I said, ‘Do you want marriage and kids?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah, I do,’” Gaga revealed.
“And I said, ‘OK. Great. Do you want some champagne?’ And he said, ‘Sure.’”
Help and support:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
- CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
- The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
- Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
