Warning: The following article discusses mental health and self-harm
Selena Gomez would have "done something to hurt" herself at her lowest points if it wasn't for her fans.
The 29-year-old singer and actress has admitted her public battles with her health and several "very public heartbreaks" - from the likes of Justin Bieber and The Weeknd - left a huge mark on her emotional state.
Gomez also said she would likely have resorted to self-harm if she wasn't in a position where she could "help people" by sharing her story.
She explained: "My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks - these were all things that honestly should have taken me down. Every time I went through something, I was like, 'What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?'
"[I kept telling myself] 'You're going to help people.' That's really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn't strong enough and would have done something to hurt myself."
The 'Lose You to Love Me' hitmaker also explained living in the public eye made her "feel gross for a long time".
But when Gomez was diagnosed with bipolar disorder - which she revealed last year - she finally understood the emotions she was feeling.
She added: "For a while, I felt like an object. It felt gross for a long time.
"I felt a huge weight lifted off me when I found out [I was bipolar]. I could take a deep breath and go, 'Okay, that explains so much.' "
Taking breaks from social media has also helped with Gomez's mental health, after she gave her assistant access to her passwords in 2017 so that she no longer needs to have direct access to her accounts herself.
Speaking to Elle magazine for September's Latinx issue - which she also guest edited - she said: "This tiny little phone that had 150 million people on it - I just put it down. That was such a relief for me."
Bang Showbiz
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