Actress and singer Selena Gomez confided once again in her mental health, impacted by her lupus.
- The American actress and singer explains that she was treated for chronic depression and anxiety, probable consequences of her lupus, which she revealed to be suffering from in 2015.
- Lupus is a chronic and debilitating disease of autoimmune origin.
“I’m not ashamed. I feel better and I feel like I can understand a lot of things now. I feel like being able to be myself is something really hard, and I had to work on that.” Star Selena Gomez opened up in an interview alongside her mom about her health issues. The American actress and singer explains in particular that she was treated for chronic depression and anxiety, probable consequences of her lupus, which she revealed to be suffering from in 2015.
A chronic illness
Lupus is a chronic disease, of autoimmune origin, that is to say that it is explained by a dysregulation of the immune system. This is normally responsible for defending our body against external and internal aggressions, but in the case of lupus, the abnormal activity of our body’s defense cells (called lymphocytes) lead to an attack on different components. of all the organs of our body: the skin, the joints, the kidneys, the heart, the brain…
Due to the diversity of causes and the wide variety of possible damage (systemic disease), the expression of the disease will be different for each individual. It can be exclusively cutaneous (without any risk of subsequent damage to a vital organ), or more diffuse and affecting several organs, which can lead to severe damage if the disease is not well treated. In April 2017, Selena Gomez announced that she was putting her career on hold to treat herself and had just undergone a kidney transplant, thanks to the donation of one of her friends. She then said on Instagram: “It’s a real sacrifice. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by giving me her kidney. I’m so grateful”.
Women are more affected
Lupus, like most autoimmune diseases, affects women much more often than men (9 women for every man). The hormonal cause of this female predominance of the disease is the most traditionally advanced explanation. Female hormones and, in particular, estrogen, overall promote the excess immunity seen in lupus. This explains why the disease can worsen during pregnancy, when taking estrogen-based hormonal contraceptives or during hormone replacement therapy after menopause.
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