#SXSW: SELENA GOMEZ AT “MINDFULNESS OVER PERFECTION, GETING REAL ON MENTAL HEALTH” PANEL

By Mr. Will Wong

Many of us might know Selena Gomez as a global superstar of Music and Television and without a film or TV series at SXSW ’24, many might be wondering, what’s the deal? Did you know that Gomez, through her Rare Impact Fund, is committed to raising $100 million dollars over the next 10 years to help give people access to the resources they need to support their mental health?

Her and her mother, Producer Mandy Teefey have teamed to launch WONDERMIND, which has a mandate to change the way we thinking about mental health and how we access resources about it.

The duo spoke at an SXSW ’24 panel today, Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health, with Dr. Jessica B. Stern, Solomon Thomas and Dr. Corey Yeager, held at Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D.

Some highlights from the Panel below:

Gomez and Teefey are asked about how WONDERMIND came about.

Gomez: “It honestly stemmed from a conversation we both had with each other. It was about our journeys and we ended up relating a lot to each other, and it was a turning point and I think it was about ‘how can we do that for other people?'”. “It really just stemmed from us wanting to help other moms and daughters to have real open and honest conversations and that turned into this.”.

Teefey: “When we were exploring new avenues of how to continue the mother-daughter component and really just trying to create family support amongst the conversations that you can do it together as a family, was really the message behind that. We realized that there’s not just one place that you can go to help you explore whatever you’re feeling. So what we did is – since we’re not doctors – we are our audience, we are our consumer. So what we wanted to do is build this world with several different pillars: Content, Tilm, TV, Podcasts, Product, and by the requests of the audience that is avid readers of Wondermind, we will be launching an app coming really soon. It’s gonna change the game on how we execute and how people can practice their mental fitness, without feeling like they’re putting the time.”.

“The top three reasons people don’t do therapy is they don’t have the time, they don’t have the insurance or they don’t believe it works.”.

Gomez is asked about the moment she decided to talk about her mental health.

Gomez: “I work in the weirdest industry and I just felt I didn’t fit in. My mom was very vocal and open about how she and I were feeling. We watchinged Girl, Interrupted when I was 12 and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what rehab looks like!’, and was confused by it. And then we had one of the most honest conversations that allowed me not to be scared. You can’t force someone to do it. There’s a lot of people who cared about me more than I cared about myself. I had to hit my rock bottom and at my time. It took a couple tries. I like to think that I’m in a much better place now.”.

Gomez also talks about feeling a huge weight lifted off her shoulders after releasing her 2022 Documentary My Mind & Me.

Gomez: “I released a Documentary and I was terrified to do it. I went back and forth on whether I’d do it or not. I think the moment I did that, I felt an insane amount of release because there wasn’t any hiding anymore. There wasn’t just this image that people could see. I can say it’s helped release a lot of anxiety of keeping it in, just to let people know I’m having a hard day or I just need a minute.”.

Gomez also talks about grappling with the concept of being kind to oneself.

Gomez: “It’s important to speak to yourself with kindness and I don’t think I really understood that. It’s funny because all the things I was bitching about back then, I’m so grateful for now. It’s really ironic. I think it’s taught me a lot about myself. It’s weird being able to see myself so long ago saying those things that I would never say to myself now.”.

The audience were encouraged as a take away to look within at three Ws in their own lives – to continue reflecting on these, building upon them and continuing to seek inspiration and share with others:

WISH – something that you wish for yourself, something you’d like to try to do, a goal you’d like to set.

WONDER – something that you can be curious about. A question you can ask yourself, non-judgmentally reflective. Something that’s going to inspire you, move you forward.

WIN – what’s something you’re doing well? Something you’re proud of. Something you want to keep
doing.

The Panel will be available on-demand. More here.