Selena Gomez shares her self-love journey amid Lupus diagnosis

Selena Gomez discussed her self-love journey in recent years during a panel at SXSW titled Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real On Mental Health.

The panel took place on Sunday and featured the Single Soon singer, her mother, and Wondermind co-founder Mandy Teefey.

The moderator, Dr Jessica Stern, asked Gomez if the release of her 2022 Apple TV+ documentary My Mind & Me, which focused on mental health, had an impact on the way she treated herself.

Gomez didn't hold back and gave an honest answer.

"It makes me sick to hear the things that I was saying about myself in the beginning. It bums me out," the Who Says singer said, noting that the film was shot over six years.

"But I think everybody can relate to that feeling," she continued, adding, "It's important to speak to yourself with kindness, but I don't think I really understood that [at the start of the film]."

The music star's life with lupus, her burnout from global fame, suicidal thoughts that forced her to postpone a tour and resulted in a bipolar illness diagnosis—all of these challenges were chronicled in Alek Keshishian's documentary My Mind & Me.

Elsewhere in the conversation, the Only Murders in the Building actress said that "you can't force someone" to examine their mental health honestly and seek treatment before they're ready.

"There was a lot of people that cared about me more than I cared about myself that really wanted me to do things I wasn't ready for. I had my rock bottom, and I had to do it in my time," Gomez noted.