Lady Gaga opens up to LGBT kids: I have PTSD
Lady Gaga (Araya Diaz/Getty for #SeeHer)
Lady Gaga has opened up to a group of LGBT kids about her challenges with mental health.
The star revealed she has post traumatic stress disorder following being raped as a 19-year-old.
Gaga shared that she suffers from the debilitating mental illness at Harlem’s Ali Forney Center for homeless LGBT youth.
75% of the young people in the centre have suffered physical or mental abuse because of their identity.
The visit was arranged with her foundation, Born This Way, and airs on the Today show November 25.
The singer had previously said in 2014 that she was raped while a teenager, and wrote the Oscar-nominated song ‘Til It Happens To You’ about her experiences.
She said that her experiences have helped her to understand the challenges others face.
During the visit Gaga and the young people did meditation exercises in a bid to better deal with stress.
“Meditation helps me to calm down,” she told the group during her visit.
“I don’t have the same kinds of issues that you have, but I have a mental illness and I struggle with that mental illness every day so I need my mantra to help keep me relaxed.”
The home’s Executive Director, Carl Siciliano, told CNN: “Lady Gaga has always been extraordinarily supportive of the LGBT community.
“She was remarkably unguarded, open and available to each individual young person.”
