Selena Gomez Opens Up About Her Time Away From the Spotlight

Selena Gomez is bravely sharing about the time she took off to take care of her mental health.

The 24-year-old actress and singer revealed she went away to seek treatment for issues similar to those that the characters face in her upcoming series 13 Reasons Why.

“I was actually going through a really difficult time when they started production. I went away for 90 days and I actually met tons of kids in this place that we’re talking about [with] a lot of the issues that these characters are experiencing,” Selena said, referencing the show’s discussions of topics like suicide, depression, bullying and emotional abuse.

She continued, “Unfortunately, kids don’t care. They don’t care. They have to see something that’s going to scare them. They need to see something that’s frightening. I want them to understand it.”

“I would do anything to be able to have a good influence on this generation but I definitely relate to everything that was going on. I was there for the last episode and I was a mess just seeing it all come to life because I’ve experienced that…Whether I like it or not, people have seen my mistakes and I have to use that as a good thing. It definitely hits home. That’s why I wanted to make sure I was still apart of this project in any way,” Selena explained.

We’re so glad that Selena took the time off she needed to take care of her mental health!

Pictured inside: Selena leaving the Netflix panel on Wednesday (February 8) in New York City.