Lady Gaga reveals how her 'catatonic state' depression influenced new album
Lady Gaga says her depression played a pivotal part in the making of her most recent album, “Chromatica.”
"I spent a lot of time in a sort of catatonic state of just not wanting to do anything," the singer told People. "And then I finally, slowly started to make music and tell my story through my record."
The "A Star is Born" actor, 34, said her fame created a hole in her life.
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"I used to wake up in the morning, and I would realize I was 'Lady Gaga.' And then I became very depressed and sad, and I didn't want to be myself," she said. "I felt threatened by the things my career brought into my life and the pace of my life."
The 11-time Grammy winner has been vocal when it comes to her experience with mental health.
“I've been depressed and been at the grocery store and seen photos of myself and gone, 'Well, I look like everything is good.' But I was secretly freaking out, and the world had no idea," she told InStyle earlier this year. In the same interview, she discussed the long-term effects of being raped at age 19.
In 2019, she threw her support behind a pilot program called teen Mental Health First Aid designed to help teenagers see the signs of mental illness in people their own age.
In 2018, she penned an op-ed for The Guardian in which she lamented the global response to mental health.
"At present, every nation in the world is a 'developing country' when it comes to mental health," she wrote.
Gaga has even turned her struggles into a family matter. In 2012, she and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, launched the Born This Way Foundation, which attempts to “support the mental and emotional wellness of young people.”
Earlier this year, Germanotta told TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones her daughter’s depression started at a young age.
"In middle school, because she was unique, she started experiencing a lot of struggles. You know, feeling isolated from events. Humiliated. Taunted," Germanotta said
"And she would start to question herself and become doubtful of her own abilities. And that's when she developed depression. We tried our best as parents to help her, but didn't know everything. So I felt where I made mistakes was I didn't really know the warning signs to look for."
Gaga’s outspoken approach about overcoming adversity combines with her desire to help others. In addition to their foundation, she and her mother have also written a book, "Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community," which comes out on Sept. 22.
"These are the things that create highways from heart to heart, where we can hold compassion and empathy, where we can celebrate everybody's resilience," the singer told People.
