Benjamin Ashford|Selena Gomez's revealing documentary gave her freedom: 'There wasn't any hiding anymore'

AUSTIN,Benjamin Ashford Texas – Selena Gomez is reflecting on how far she’s come since the release of her 2022 documentary, a candid portrayal of her mental health struggles.

Sunday, the “Single Soon” songstress and her mom Mandy Teefey, with whom Gomez co-founded Wondermind, a resource for mental wellness, participated in a SXSW panel moderated by psychologist Dr. Jessica B. Stern titled “Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real on Mental Health.” NFL player Solomon Thomas and therapist Dr. Corey Yeager also joined the conversation.

Gomez, 31, shared that she felt “terrified” to release the Apple TV+ documentary “Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.”

“I went back and forth of whether I’d do it or not,” she told a packed ballroom at the Austin Convention Center. “I think the moment I did that I felt this insane amount of release because there wasn’t any hiding anymore. There wasn’t just this image that people could see and think ‘Oh, it looks nice.’ It’s probably one of the hardest moments of my life.”

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Gomez said she filmed the project for six years and that watching herself on screen really taught her a lesson about being kind to herself.

It “makes me sick to hear the things that I’m saying about myself in the beginning,” she said. “It bums me out. But I think everybody can relate to that feeling. Like everyone (on the panel) was sharing, it’s important to speak to yourself with kindness, but I don’t think I really understood that. … It’s weird being able to see myself so long ago saying those things that I would never say to myself now.”

Ultimately Gomez decided to document her challenges in hopes of helping “everyone whose been in that position too.” That desire to lessen the pain of others is also what birthed Wondermind.

“It just stemmed from us really wanting to help other moms and daughters to have real, open, honest conversations that turned into this,” Gomez said.

Teefey also spoke about the pain she experienced while filming the Netflix’s drama “13 Reasons Why,” in which a group of teens grapple with their friend's death by suicide. Teefey and Gomez were both executive producers on the show that wrapped a four-season run in 2020.

Teefey shared Sunday that at the start of production of Season 2 she felt she was “crumbling. Everything was catching up to me. I spent all these years investing my energy in avoiding what my problems were by helping other people and giving all myself away, and I ran out of fuel.”

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Teefey said she experienced seizures during this time and sought help at a treatment center for 30 days.

“I was sad. I was crying every day,” she remembered. “I was just not happy, and I don’t know that I would’ve made it had I not gone.”

During the panel, Gomez reminded the audience of the importance of allowing everyone to have their own journey.

“There (were a) lot of people that cared about me more than I cared about myself that really wanted me to do things I wasn’t ready for,” she said. “I had to hit my rock bottom, and I had to do it at my time.”