From lupus diagnosis to mental health issues: A timeline of Selena Gomez’s health struggles

SELENA Gomez is in treatment for mental health issues, but the 26-year-old singer has been down this road before.
Selena Gomez is in treatment for mental health issues, but the 26-year-old singer has been down this road before.

The Back to You songstress has been to rehab numerous times throughout the years and has always been honest with Selenators (her fanbase) about the health struggles she lives with day in and day out.

2014: Rehab for lupus diagnosis

In January 2014, Gomez secretly completed a two-week stay at The Meadows, a rehab facility in Arizona.
“Selena voluntarily spent time at Meadows but not for substance abuse,” Gomez’s rep told E! News at the time. Though it was unclear at the time what caused her to receive help, she later explained that it was her new-found lupus diagnosis and chemotherapy treatments that made her step away from the limelight.

“I was diagnosed with lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy. That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke,” said Gomez of her break in a Billboard cover story.

Many assumed it was related to substance abuse issues, to which she said: “I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a**holes.’ I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”
2016: Rehab for anxiety and depression

Though she came back from rehab feeling better than ever, the former Disney star checked back into another rehab facility in Tennessee two years later in August 2016 for anxiety and depression.

“As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus. I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges,” the singer said in a statement upon entering. “I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off.”

Gomez’s 90-day treatment in Tennessee came amid her Revival World Tour, causing her to cancel the remaining concert dates. While there, Gomez had to give up her cellphone and participated in individual, group and equine therapies.

“You have no idea how incredible it felt to just be with six girls,” she admitted to Vogue in March 2017. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve done, but it was the best thing I’ve done.”
Summer 2017: Kidney transplant

Only a few months after that, in the summer of 2017, Gomez revealed she received a kidney transplant from her best friend, Francia Raisa, due to complications from lupus. Although she received the “ultimate gift” from Raisa, it wasn’t enough to sustain her mental health.
February 2018: Therapy treatment

In early 2018, Gomez checked into treatment in a luxury Connecticut facility for two weeks. There, she concentrated on therapy, healthy eating, as well as meditation and pilates.

Although Gomez departed the facility in a better place, it appeared her struggles were slowly starting to return following her split from longtime on-again-off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber and his sudden engagement to Hailey Baldwin. The “It Ain’t Me” singer started giving away her clothes on Instagram and sent a bizarre message to Jennifer Lopez on Instagram, which was the final straw before announcing a social media hiatus.

“As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given,” she captioned a photo of herself smiling in a mirror. “Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.”
October 2018: Mental health hospitalisation

Just a few weeks after departing social media, Gomez was hospitalised after she became “despondent and emotional” over a low white blood cell count, leading a family member to transport her to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She returned home days later but was readmitted the following week because her white blood cell count didn’t improve, which reportedly sent her spiralling.

She’s seeking treatment at an East Coast psychiatric facility, where she’s undergoing DBT, or dialectical behaviour therapy, which focuses on teaching patients mindfulness, healthy communication and behavioural patterns, emotional regulation and how to better respond to negative events.