Life
"It is so important that you take care of what is in your head and in your heart."
Over a decade ago, Lady Gaga was best known for wearing a meat dress and arriving at the Grammy Awards in a giant egg-shaped contraption. But over the years, she's also been lauded for her relentless pursuit of mental health equality. She’s spoken openly about her experiences with sexual assault, mental health, PTSD, and chronic pain.
“I was raped repeatedly when I was 19 years old, and I also developed PTSD as a result of being raped and also not processing that trauma. I did not have anyone help me, I did not have a therapist, I did not have a psychiatrist, I did not have a doctor help me through it," Gaga said during Oprah’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus tour. “I all of a sudden became a star and was traveling the world going from hotel room to garage to limo to stage, and I never dealt with it, and then all of a sudden I started to experience this incredible intense pain throughout my entire body that mimicked the illness I felt after I was raped.”
In addition to helping to normalize mental health conversations by speaking about hers publicly, Gaga also partnered with the International WELL Building Institute — which is working to promote healthier and safer indoor spaces — during the pandemic, as depression rates tripled.
"We can do hard things. We can be away from each other and we can still thrive. We can be isolated and we can keep going. We can lose our jobs, but we can find new ways to prosper. And if we see somebody suffering, so many of us will ask, 'How can I help you?'" Gaga tells Bustle exclusively. "These are our victories and they should be celebrated. When people look back at this pandemic, I hope that they not only remember the lives we've lost, but they also remember the bravery of so many people. This is what makes human kindness so special."
Read on for Gaga's most inspiring quotes about mental health.
1
"Please do not discount your mental health during this time. It is so important that you take care of what is in your head and in your heart."
Gaga said this when she visited a Red Cross shelter for fellow Woolsey Fire evacuees (she was forced to evacuate her Mailbu, Calif., home) in 2018.
2
"We need to share our stories so that global mental health no longer resides and festers in the darkness."
For the first time publicly in 2018, Gaga spoke in depth about the nature of her mental health struggles at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation where she accepted an award for kindness.
3
"We can no longer afford to be silenced by stigma or stymied by misguided ideas that portray these conditions as a matter of weakness or moral failing."
In an op-ed for The Guardian in 2018, Gaga put forth a call to action to destigmatize mental illness and make mental health a global priority.
4
"We are equal. We both walk our two feet on the same earth. And we’re in this together."
In 2016, Gaga visited the Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBTQ youth in New York City, as documented by the TODAY show. She shared her personal experiences, including being a rape survivor and living with PTSD.
5
"I’m here because … I see a lot of people who have secrets that are killing them. We don’t want you to keep your pain inside and let it rot like an old apple on your counter, you know? It’s like, just get rid of all that trash. Let’s get rid of it together."
During a 2015 panel discussion for the TimesTalks video series for the documentary The Hunting Ground, Gaga spoke about the importance of sharing trauma and pain with others in order to begin healing.
6
"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."
In 2016, Gaga penned an open letter to fans on the Born This Way Foundation, which she founded with her mom to empower youth and inspire bravery. Leading by example, she disclosed that she lives with a mental illness and that she takes medication, two difficult things for people with mental illnesses to disclose to others.
7
"There is a lot of shame attached to mental illness ... this is a part of me and that's OK."
In a 2017 conversation about mental health awareness with Prince William, Gaga revealed how polarizing it is to feel lucky to have achieved her dreams while simultaneously experiencing so much depression and anxiety that she had difficulty getting out of bed.
8
"Depression doesn't take away your talents — it just makes them harder to find. But I always find it. I learned that my sadness never destroyed what was great about me. You just have to go back to that greatness, find that one little light that's left."
In a 2014 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Gaga reminded readers that when you're in a tunnel, there is light on both sides, even if you can't see it.
9
"I’ve suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life, I still suffer with it every single day. I just want these kids to know that that depth that they feel as human beings is normal."
In a 2015 story in Billboard, Gaga destigmatizes depression and anxiety by making it clear that it can happen to anyone, and there is no shame in having a mental illness.
10
"You use your platforms and voices to both raise awareness and enforce change and be change, and I feel deeply that there is nothing more respectable one with such a platform can do."
This is another one from Gaga's SAG-AFTRA Foundation speech. It's directed toward those in attendance who have a platform to make a difference.
If you or someone you know is seeking help for mental health concerns, visit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) website, or call 1-800-950-NAMI(6264). For confidential treatment referrals, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) website, or call the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP(4357). In an emergency, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK(8255) or call 911.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit online.rainn.org.
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