AUSTIN, Texas — Weekend one of South by Southwest (SXSW) is underway, with some big names taking on big topics in Downtown Austin.
On Sunday, actor Selena Gomez joined three others – including her mother, Mandy Teefey – for a SXSW panel discussion on mental health.
In 2022, the “Only Murders in the Building” star founded Wondermind, a media company dedicated to mental health, with Teefey and The Newsette founder Daniella Pearson. Gomez has been open about her struggles with mental health and revealed she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2020.
Gomez and Teefey were joined on stage at the Austin Convention Center by NFL defensive lineman Solomon Thomas and psychotherapist for the Detroit Pistons Dr. Corey Yeager. The panel was moderated by clinical psychologist Dr. Jessica Stern. Thomas is also the founder of “The Defensive Line,” a nonprofit aimed at reducing youth suicide that he started after the death of his older sister by suicide in 2018 at the age of 24.
During the panel, “Mindfulness Over Perfection: Getting Real on Mental Health,” Gomez told attendees she was “terrified” to be the subject of her 2022 documentary, “My Mind & Me,” which explores her struggles with physical and mental wellbeing.
“I think the moment I did that I felt this insane amount of release because there wasn’t any hiding anymore,” she said. “There wasn’t just this image that people could see and think, ‘Oh, it looks nice.’ … It’s helped release a lot of anxiety of keeping it in.”
Dr. Yeager said social media has “decontextualized” our lives because it presents a false image and hides the adversity we experience behind the scenes.
“Let’s pay attention to contextualizing our lives,” he said. “That’s what Selena really touched on – she gave the opportunity to be vulnerable so we could see some of those other aspects that she works through on a continuous basis.”
Thomas said growing up in the locker room around other athletes, being vulnerable, emotional and open wasn’t allowed.
“To be honest, growing up, those were things that we made fun of,” he said. “We made fun of guys for crying. We made fun of guys for being sensitive. Getting into this work was a really hard journey for me.”
He said going to therapy after his sister’s suicide helped him come to terms with his depression and emotions.
“I feel like I can live an authentic life now,” Thomas said. “I feel like I can be myself unapologetically.”
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Teefey said the goal of Wondermind is to help democratize mental health resources for people that don’t have access. The organization started with a newsletter featuring mental health resources. Now, the media company has also produced a docuseries about athlete mental health and podcasts.
The panelists stressed the importance of our own internal dialogues and how we talk about ourselves. Gomez said looking back at her documentary allowed her to see the way she talked about herself and how that changed over the six years of shooting.
“It’s important to speak to yourself with kindness, but I don’t think I really understood that,” Gomez said.