Lady Gaga reveals she developed PTSD after being raped at age of 19

LOS ANGELES: Lady Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, has shared painful moments of her life, revealing she developed post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after being ‘repeatedly raped’ at the age of 19.

The Born This Way singer opened up about her mental health battle and said  : "I was raped repeatedly when I was 19 years old, and I also developed PTSD as a result of being raped and also not processing that trauma."

She, in talks with  Oprah Winfrey, said that attacks were carried out by someone she knew from her childhood. 

The Joanne singer broke into tears while explaining the aftermath, saying, "I all of a sudden became a star and was travelling the world going from hotel room to garage to limo to stage, and I never dealt with it, and then all of a sudden I started to experience this incredible intense pain throughout my entire body that mimicked the illness I felt after I was raped." 

Gaga believes it’s important to educate youngsters about mental health in schools. Last year, Gaga apologised for working with R Kelly after he was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault against young women.

The pop-star, in a statement, said: "I was sorry both for my poor judgment when I was young, and for not speaking out sooner. "

She continued: "I stand behind these women, believe them, know they are suffering and in pain, and feel strongly that their voices should be heard and taken seriously."

Drawing on her own experience, Gaga added: "As a victim of sexual assault myself, I made both the song and the video at a dark time in my life, my intention was to create something extremely defiant and provocative because I was angry and still hadn’t processed the trauma that had occurred in my own life."