While Lady Gaga basked in the glow of back-to-back career successes, behind the scenes her mental health experienced a downward spiral.
In a cover story published by Rolling Stone on Thursday, 13 November, the multi-awarded singer confessed that she was using lithium and dealt with a psychotic break while doing the 'Joanne' world tour from August 2017 until its cancellation in February 2018.
She revealed that her problems started after finishing the film 'A Star Is Born,' which eventually earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and a win for the Best Original Song with 'Shallow'.
'I did "A Star Is Born" on lithium. There was one day that my sister said to me, "I don't see my sister anymore,"' she admitted in the interview.
Her mental health issues preceded her Super Bowl LI halftime performance in February 2017. After a year, she cancelled the last 10 dates of the European leg of her 'Joanne' tour, citing 'severe pain' from her chronic pain disorder, fibromyalgia, according to a report from ABC News.
'And I cancelled the tour. There was one day I went to the hospital for psychiatric care. I needed to take a break. I couldn't do anything,' Gaga shared with Rolling Stone. 'I completely crashed. It was really scary. There was a time where I didn't think I could get better.'
What Is Lithium and Why Is It Prescribed?
In clinical settings, lithium is used as a mood stabiliser to treat mental illnesses like manic depression and bipolar disorder.
According to the NHS, this type of medicine can also help in reducing self-harming or aggressive behaviour. The medicine can slow down a person's thinking or cause emotional numbness. It is sometimes prescribed for depression when other treatments fail.
How Lady Gaga Got Out of Her Dark Phase
Gaga shared that she was able to recover from her mental health problems and now thinks of herself as 'a healthy, whole person.'
She added, 'I feel really lucky to be alive. I know that might sound dramatic, but we know how this can go.'
She credited her fiancé, Michael Polansky, with helping her heal, 'Being in love with someone that cares about that real me made a very big difference'.
'How do you learn how to be yourself with someone when you don't know how to be yourself with anyone?,' she also said.
From Joker to Grammy Glory
The actress-singer worked on multiple projects after her bout with mental health problems. She starred in the highly criticised 'Joker: Folie à Deux' opposite Joaquin Phoenix in 2024. The movie did not do well at the box office.
'I wasn't, like, unfazed,' Gaga shared about her thoughts on the movie's poor reception. 'It's funny, I'm almost nervous to share my reaction. But the truth is, when it first started happening, I started laughing. Because it was just getting so unhinged. When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful. Only because I put a lot of myself into it.'
Gaga bounced back with the release of her 'Mayhem' album in March, which earned her seven Grammy Award nominations and is considered one of her finest works to date.
