Lady Gaga Opens Up To Oprah About Self-Harm And Lasting Effects Of Trauma

Lady Gaga has gone from becoming one of the best pop stars in the world to a pop star/mogul/Grammy-winning actress, further cementing her legacy for eons to come. Nevertheless this journey wasn’t habitually easy.


In a new interview for ELLE magazine, the singer, actor, and style icon sat down with Oprah  to discuss her new makeup line, Haus Laboratories; coming more into herself within the past decade; proverbially killing her bullies with kindness; and why she learned to better channel her pain and trauma from her past.


Throughout one particularly raw moment, Gaga opened up about her past issues with self-harm, which she says she hasn’t discussed about a lot, however believes it’s “an crucial thing for people to know and hear.” She revealed that, in doing so, she was portraying her struggles so that people could visualize what she was going through.


“I was a cutter for a long time, and the only way that I was able to stop cutting and self-harming myself was to identify that what I was doing was attempting to show people that I was in pain alternatively opposed to telling them and asking for help,” she explained. “When I realized that telling someone, ‘Hey, I am having a urge to hurt myself,’ that defused it. I then had someone next to me saying, ‘You don’t have to show me. Just tell me: What are you feeling right now?’ And then I could just tell my story.”


“I mention that with plenty of humility and strength; I’m very grateful that I don’t do it anymore, and I desire to not glamorize it,” she added.


The singer also explained that she no longer self-harms, and underscores the significance of asking for help if and any time whenever you need it. “I’m on medication; I have a few doctors. This is how I survive,” she mentioned. “I would also beckon to anyone to try, any time if they feel ready, to ask for help. And I would beckon to others that if they visualize someone suffering, to approach them and mention, ‘Hey, I visualize you. I visualize that you’re suffering, and I’m here. Tell me your story.’”


Gaga, who has been open about her experience with chronic pain and fibromyalgia, and also because the PTSD she incurred as a sexual assault survivor, also instructed them mogul she “once imagined that there was no way back from my trauma. I really did. I was in physical, mental, and emotional pain.” For her, recovery came from a mix of both medication and therapy, and also adopting coping mechanisms that work for her once she feels her ideations start to manifest.


Still, she credits the work she’s done internally with helping her soar to new heights — which include nabbing the Oscar for her song “Shallow,” which she sang in A Star Is Born. “I was raped As soon as I was 19 years old, repeatedly. I have been traumatized in a number of ways by my career over the years from several different things, yet I survived, and I’ve kept going,” she added. “And that kid out there or maybe that adult out there who’s been through so much, I want them to know that they can keep going, and so can survive, and so they can win their Oscar.”


If you or someone you know is struggling with their emotional health, head to halfofus.Com for ways to get help. In case you or someone you know are seeking help for self-harm, text CONNECT to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.