Singer, songwriter, and performer Lady Gaga opened up this week about an experience that may not have been guessed by looking at her: her years-long struggle with psychosis.
During an interview with the New York Times' podcast The Interview, the singer confided:
"I had psychosis. I was not deeply in touch with reality for a while."
"It took me out of life in a big way, and after a lot of years of hard work, I got myself back."
Lady Gaga's struggles with psychosis were resolved about five years ago, and it was a time in her life that she found to be "increasingly harder to think about."
By talking about it in the interview, however, she hoped to reclaim that part of herself without shame and to possibly help listeners who felt alone or who remained undiagnosed.
Lady Gaga reflected:
"I hate feeling defined by it. It felt like something I felt ashamed of."
"But I don’t think that we should feel ashamed if we go through times like that."
"I mostly just wish to say, it can get better. It did for me, and I’m grateful for that.”
Lady Gaga has been open about her mental health history in the past. During an interview with Oprah, she said a "pill box" she traveled with sounded "like a baby rattle," and there are unmistakable discussions of depression and PTSD in her album Chromatica. But the artist has never been so open about specifically experiencing psychosis.
She also opened up about how it impacted her relationship with her fiancé, Michael Polansky.
"When I met Michael, I was in a much better place, but I remember him saying to me, pretty early on, ‘I know you could be a lot happier than you are.'"
"It was really hard for me to hear him say that because I didn’t want him to think that of me... I wanted him to think I was, like, this happy, totally together person."
You can listen to the clip here:
So Gaga just said in this podcast that she had PSYCHOSIS before she met Michael and no one is talking about it ???? pic.twitter.com/kpP3Bl0Vqh
— VIⱯNK (@2chromatica) March 9, 2025
Fans of Lady Gaga empathized with her experiences.
That's insanely heartbreaking, I had psychosis for 8 months and it was the most terrifying sensation. I was convinced nobody and nothing around me was real and that I was in a simulation and I basically went crazy.
— 𝕲𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝕺𝖋 𝕰𝖑𝖎 (@EliOnVenus__) March 9, 2025
oh my baby:( im so glad she's doing sm better now
— mena (@apppleeex) March 9, 2025
Looking back, you can see it in her eyes. We all saw what she wanted us to see, but I can see the hurt and emptiness in her eyes in old footage. She looked so much more inflamed too. I’m so happy she’s back and getting the help and love she deserves
— korn kardashian (@kornkardashian) March 9, 2025
glad she's better, because that feels like hell 💔
— luk£££€ (@dannnyteeekayyn) March 9, 2025
Mommy 🥺 I am glad you are here today 💔
— LOOΠΔ4Eva/oT12 (@MissingKitty12) March 9, 2025
Oh my god? She truly was going thru it
— Scorpio’s Groove 💋 (@MonteSpice) March 9, 2025
Ik she said she had a psychotic break back in the day.. And she takes olanzapine which is a antipsychotic drug. Nvmd, I'm so happy she feels better now
— sara | saw gaga 4x 💫 (@ArtRave57) March 8, 2025
To think that at this time, my physical health was also at its lowest it's been in my adult life, and I was later diagnosed with fibromyalgia... does Stefani Germanotta know she's my rock or? 😭
— GARDEN OF NƎꓷIⱯ 🇵🇸 (@lovinginvention) March 9, 2025
She's very brave to openly talk about having issues with her trauma response or dissociation from reality. Happens to many people but especially those who are creative and push themselves as far as she does. Genius takes a toll. Genetic tendency plus life events or childhood…
— Graceinla (@girlnamedgil) March 10, 2025
Lady Gaga opens up about her psychosis diagnosis in a raw conversation on The Interview podcast. It’s so important to raise awareness around mental health. 💬🧠
— Gih Ribeiro (@gyhribeiro20) March 10, 2025
As easy as it can be to write off successful artists and performers as rich and therefore without problems, it's important to remember that we all go through things, despite how well off we might be financially. Without deeply knowing a person, you can't really say what they've been experiencing behind the scenes.
@annewheaton/Threads
@richardadlof/Threads
@mikeisaphreek/Threads
@daisymouze/Threads