Lady Gaga Speaks to Prince William About Mental Health Stigma
Stigma is one of the biggest mental health concerns of our time.Stigma, negative judgement and perception of being 'broken' are all things I hear from clients as barriers they faced when they finally make it into therapy. The more that we can put mental health on par with physical health, and see the two as inextricably linked, the better we equip people with the courage to obtain the professional support they need.I'm so grateful to have come across this conversation between Lady Gaga, one of the world's most famous performers, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, as they talk about the importance of emotional health. The Royal Family's younger generation has taken up the task of eradicating stigma with their Heads Together initiative and it has produced some worthwhile conversations, such as this one.You can watch the fascinating call between the two below.
Lady Gaga Opens Up About Living with PTSD
Performer Lady Gaga recently opened up about living with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The condition affects about 8 million US adults each year (US Department of Veteran Affairs). Lady Gaga recently penned an open letter for her Born This Way Foundation that I am sharing here in its entirety to help those who may be living with PTSD.
She writes:
"I have wrestled for some time about when, how and if I should reveal my diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After five years of searching for the answers to my chronic pain and the change I have felt in my brain, I am finally well enough to tell you. There is a lot of shame attached to mental illness, but it’s important that you know that there is hope and a chance for recovery.It is a daily effort for me, even during this album cycle, to regulate my nervous system so that I don’t panic over circumstances that to many would seem like normal life situations. Examples are leaving the house or being touched by strangers who simply want to share their enthusiasm for my music.
I also struggle with triggers from the memories I carry from my feelings of past years on tour when my needs and requests for balance were being ignored. I was overworked and not taken seriously when I shared my pain and concern that something was wrong. I ultimately ended up injured on the Born This Way Ball. That moment and the memory of it has changed my life forever. The experience of performing night after night in mental and physical pain ingrained in me a trauma that I relive when I see or hear things that remind me of those days.
I also experience something called dissociation which means that my mind doesn’t want to relive the pain so “I look off and I stare” in a glazed over state. As my doctors have taught me, I cannot express my feelings because my pre-frontal cortex (the part of the brain that controls logical, orderly thought) is overridden by the amygdala (which stores emotional memory) and sends me into a fight or flight response. My body is in one place and my mind in another. It’s like the panic accelerator in my mind gets stuck and I am paralyzed with fear.
When this happens I can’t talk. When this happens repeatedly, it makes me have a common PTSD reaction which is that I feel depressed and unable to function like I used to. It’s harder to do my job. It’s harder to do simple things like take a shower. Everything has become harder. Additionally, when I am unable to regulate my anxiety, it can result in somatization, which is pain in the body caused by an inability to express my emotional pain in words.
But I am a strong and powerful woman who is aware of the love I have around me from my team, my family and friends, my doctors and from my incredible fans who I know will never give up on me. I will never give up on my dreams of art and music. I am continuing to learn how to transcend this because I know I can. If you relate to what I am sharing, please know that you can too.
Traditionally, many associate PTSD as a condition faced by brave men and women that serve countries all over the world. While this is true, I seek to raise awareness that this mental illness affects all kinds of people, including our youth. I pledge not only to help our youth not feel ashamed of their own conditions, but also to lend support to those servicemen and women who suffer from PTSD. No one’s invisible pain should go unnoticed.
I am doing various modalities of psychotherapy and am on medicine prescribed by my psychiatrist. However, I believe that the most inexpensive and perhaps the best medicine in the world is words. Kind words…positive words…words that help people who feel ashamed of an invisible illness to overcome their shame and feel free. This is how I and we can begin to heal. I am starting today, because secrets keep you sick. And I don’t want to keep this secret anymore.
A note from my psychologist, Dr. Nancy: ‘If you think you might have PTSD, please seek professional help. There is so much hope for recovery. Many people think that the event that stimulated PTSD needs to be the focus. Yet often, people will experience the same event and have completely different reactions to it. It is my opinion that trauma occurs in an environment where your feelings and emotional experience are not valued, heard and understood. The specific event is not the cause of traumatic experience. This lack of a “relational home” for feelings is the true cause of traumatic experience.
Finding support is key.
Click here or visit the National Institute for Mental Health for more information on PTSD in all its forms and where to find help. If you are in crisis now, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8225)."
The Academy Awards Shine a Light on an Important Topic
There has been a lot of controversy regarding the #OscarsSoWhite and the lack of diversity amongst the academy's nominees. While I think there is much to be said about Hollywood and its diversity problem, there are two names that I think should be on everyone's minds on this day after the Oscars: "Spotlight" and Lady Gaga.
Earlier this year, Lady Gaga released a powerful song and music video titled "Til it Happens to You." For the singer, it marked yet another diversion from the typical pop world which is now often littered with dance-y beats and lyrics that really aren't all that coherent. As a survivor of sexual assault, Lady Gaga utilized her extremely powerful voice, literally and figuratively, to share a message about abuse while showing an example of a thriving survivor. She has also recently been vocal in her support of fellow pop star Kesha, who has been fighting a court case for years now with her record label which is related to her allegations that a record producer sexually assaulted her. There has been a lot of controversy over the statements that she has made, especially in her deposition years ago. And with recent allegations against Bill Cosby resurfacing, Hollywood has had a lot to deal with relating to sexual assault.
At the Academy Awards on February 28, 2016 Lady Gaga performed her song "Til it Happens to You" which was nominated for Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song). You can view her performance below:"Spotlight", which is a powerful film about a talented group of brash journalists investigating sexual abuse in the Catholic church in Boston, is based on a true story. This film took home the biggest trophy of the night for Best motion picture of the year. With this film winning best picture, it's clear to me that the voting Academy chose to send a very clear message about sexual abuse which is so incredibly important in this day in age. Paired with the visibility of a survivor like Lady Gaga, the combination of "Spotlight" and the singer is a powerful punch against abuse and a very clear message to survivors of sexual abuse, "We believe you. You matter."
I had the opportunity to see the film "Spotlight" several weeks ago and I had no idea at the time that it was up for best picture. After seeing the film, the win is much deserved. The cast is an incredible collection of acting talent and despite all the failures of the criminal justice system to hold abusers responsible, I think this film serves as a very real reminder to the many men, women, boys and girls who have survived abuse that there are people invested in their stories. People care and this is an issue that we must continue to speak about openly if we are to enact real change in not only the healing for survivors but also holding abusers accountable for their actions. The spotlight is on and I hope we never look back into the darkness of ignorance again.