Selena Gomez Focuses on Her Well-Being, Talks Mental Health and the Influence of Social Media

Actress and singer Selena Gomez says 2018 is the year she's really going to focus on her mental health and well-being.

"I've had a lot of issues with depression and anxiety, and I've been very vocal about it, but it's not something I feel I'll ever overcome. There won't be a day when I'm like, "Here I am in a pretty dress—I won!" I think it's a battle I'm gonna have to face for the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that because I know that I'm choosing myself over anything else," the former Disney star told Harper's Bazaar.

"I'm starting my year off with that thought. I want to make sure I'm healthy. If that's good, everything else will fall into place. I don't really set goals 'cause I don't want to be disappointed if I don't reach them, but I do want to work on my music too," she said.

Gomez has a huge social media platform and boasts more than 133 million Instagram followers. However, she says social media has been both a blessing and a curse — especially when it comes to her mental health.

"It's an incredible platform, but in a lot of ways it's given young people, myself included, a false representation of what's important. So, yeah, it's a complex relationship. Probably one of my most difficult relationships," she said.

Last year, Gomez opened up about her Christian faith. She attended Hillsong's conference in Los Angeles and told attendees she is a "child of God."

She shared her testimony at the conference in the form of a letter she wrote to her younger self.

"You are enough because you are a child of God who has been pursued from the very beginning. You are enough because His grace has saved you and covered you," she said.