Katy Perry & Removing Shame From Mental Health Issues
- Singer Katy Perry has previously discussed her struggles with depression. Now, she’s “grateful for the pain because it pushed [her] towards the growth.”
- Mental health is a crucial aspect of overall wellbeing. And it’s important to keep an eye out for signs that there may be something affecting your mind and address them promptly.
- Experts say forms of talk therapy can help people cope with the change that a cancer diagnosis brings to a person's life. Another expert recommends practicing mindfulness and mediation in order to begin a journey of healing.
- Genetic testing can help determine the best course of mental health treatment for people struggling with issues like anxiety and depression. This testing help doctors gauge which medications are likely to work for their patients and cause the least amount of problematic side effects.
She’s bravely let people in on her mental health journey, and SurvivorNet is grateful she’s leading by example in showcasing the importance of emotional wellbeing.
Katy Perry’s Mental Health Journey
Read More“I'm not saying I'm gonna always be on this other side. I could, you know, fall backwards. The mind can trick you, right? But at least I have this touchstone now of a body of work that says, 'No, you did it once. You can do it again. It's possible.’"
How to Be Realistically Optimistic: Coping With Mental Health Long-Term
Diving more into the struggles she’s faced, Perry talked about the “psychological, spiritual, emotional journey” she endured the two an a half years prior to that 2020 interview.
"The older you get, the more real life gets and the harder it gets to hold onto the pain that helped you create,” she said. “No longer is that pain helping you create songs. It's just tormenting your mind at that point, especially in your thirties, when just life, things start to ache. Your body starts to not function. Your metabolism goes south. All things start to change in your thirties, but there's so much clarity that comes from it as well.”
After realizing how much power she had given to validation from others, Perry struggled to find ways to help her mental state.
“I used to really be able to fix my depression or my bouts of depression by just going, 'I'm going to write a freaking song,' or 'I'm going to do this. So blah, blah, blah. I'm going to whatever. I'll leave you in the dust. You break up with me, I'll show you. Here's a No. 1,'” she said. “It didn't work anymore.
“The world didn't want to hear from me anymore at that moment. They were like, 'That's enough. Thank you very much. You've given us something, and we're good.' And I just couldn't get out of bed for weeks and became clinically depressed and had to get on medication for the first time in my life, and I was so ashamed of it. I was like, 'I'm Katy Perry. I wrote “Firework.” I'm on medication. This is fed up.’"
Now, the superstar knows there’s no shame in turning to medication for mental health treatment. And, thankfully, she can look back on everything she’s overcome and feel satisfied not only with her career, but also her life as a whole.
"I’m grateful for the pain because it pushed me towards the growth,” she said. “Now I don't feel like a thirsty, desperate pop star that’s just trying to hit a number. I’ve got more dimension. I have a baby on the way. I have a fiancé. I love my nieces. I love my soon-to-be stepson. I love life."
The Importance of Mental Health for Cancer Survivors
Mental health should be a priority for everyone whether you’re faced with a cancer battle or not. That being said, it’s important to be aware of the following signs that there may be something affecting your mind:
- A change in eating or sleeping habits
- Losing interest in people or usual activities
- Experiencing little or no energy
- Numb and/or hopeless feelings
- Turning to drinking or drugs more than usual
- Non-typical angry, upset or on-edge feelings
- Yelling/fighting with loved ones
- Experiencing mood swings
- Intrusive thoughts
- Trouble getting through daily tasks
Symptoms of a mental health disease or issue can vary from person to person, so it’s always crucial to promptly speak with a healthcare provider if you’re experiencing any changes to your physical or mental health. There are many treatment options available and many different healthy ways to help you cope.
And when it comes to a cancer diagnosis, just know that feeling sad or anxious about the changes coming your way after hearing the "c" word for the first time is very normal and understandable.
Dealing with Grief after a Cancer Diagnosis
"Grief comes in waves," Dr. Scott Irwin, a psychiatrist and director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "They're grieving the change in their life. The future they had imagined is now different."
Dr. Irwin stressed how helpful talk therapy could be when dealing with the mixed emotions. It's important to reach out to your doctor, a therapist or support groups in your community if you feel like you're struggling.
Ni Guttenfelder can attest to the benefits of therapy. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in October 2017 and quickly decided she needed a therapist to help process her feelings. Her suggestion is to seek a counselor you're comfortable with one you trust and can open up to about your cancer diagnosis.
"Initially I went to a session where I just cried and the counselor basically told me what I was feeling was normal and didn't offer me any type of feedback. But I knew that I needed something more than that. Not just a crying session and a pat on my shoulder," she told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "What I have found is that it's critical to find the right counselor, not just any counselor."
Once she found a counselor she truly trusted, Guttenfelder began to see some clarity.
"One of the things that my counselor has taught me from the very beginning that has helped me is the concept of acceptance," she says. "Acceptance is a process. It's like downloading a computer file in increments. Visualizing it in that way has really helped me."
Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
She also had some helpful advice for other women dealing with ovarian cancer: "You are stronger and more resilient than you could ever imagine."
"I think there's a misconception that we beat cancer when we finish treatment," she said. "Unfortunately, that's not always the case for everyone. I want you to know that you beat cancer by how you live your life."
Mediation and practicing mindfulness are also ways to cope with a mental health struggle. According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, there is data showing that meditation creates "reductions in psychological distress in patients with lung cancer, improves mood and general well-being in patients across several cancer diagnoses, as well as enhances psychological functioning and mindfulness in partners of cancer patients."
In an interview with Dr. Deepak Chopra, acclaimed author and pioneer of mindfulness movement, he explained that the first step on the path to practicing mindfulness is asking yourself who you really are.
"If we can combine our actions in the world with reflective self inquiry, love and compassion, and a state of secure, stable, ornamental, peaceful being without the addictions that humans have, then we can begin our journey of healing," Dr. Chopra explained.
Finding the Right Medication
There should be no shame in turning to medication for your mental health, though it can be hard to find the right one at times. These days, however, there is a form of genetic testing that has shown the ability to match people with the best medication for mental health treatment.
We’ve seen genetic testing used for treatment plans for other diseases, such as certain types of cancer, but the ability to use it to help people who are suffering from things like anxiety and depression is relatively new.
How Can Genetic Testing Help Determine the Right Form of Mental Health Treatment?
"Doing the genetic testing has absolutely transformed the landscape of psycho-pharmacology," psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet. "It's something that I highly recommend for anybody that is taking medication, whether they are being treated for cancer, or not … I recommend it for children who are taking medication. I recommend it for elderly people. Anybody who is taking medication, I think, can greatly benefit from genetic testing."
Genetic testing can give a profile of how a person is likely to respond to different types of psychiatric medications, Dr. Plutchik explained. Testing is also available to create a profile of how patients will likely respond to different sorts of pain medications, which can be really beneficial for those going through some other sort of health issue.
Genetic testing "gives me information about which medications are likely to work without having problematic side effects. It also gives information about interactions between any of the psych medications that we choose," and other medications a patient may be taking, Dr. Plutchik said.
The genetic test that Dr. Plutchik was discussing, Genomind, looks at multiple factors before determining which treatment is likely to have successful results and minimal side-effects. The test examines certain genes that are associated with responses to medications commonly prescribed for mental health issues and then looks into the patient's ability to metabolize medication.
If you’re considering going on medication for mental health treatment, consider asking your doctor if genetic testing might be helpful for you.
Contributing: Dr. Lori Plutchik
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