Selena Gomez Went to Rehab—But It's Not What You Think

by Casey Lewis


Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez

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Early yesterday, Selena Gomez's team confirmed in a statement that she spent two weeks of December in rehab. Usually when this kind of celebrity news breaks, there are immediate assumptions about alcohol or drug abuse-but we can tell you Selena went for different reasons, and they're honestly pretty inspiring.

The 21-year-old star decided to check herself into a facility so she could spend some time focusing on overall wellness. "Selena voluntarily spent time at Meadows," a spokesperson told us, "but not for substance abuse." Rehab gets a bad rap, but the Arizona treatment center she attended-and many others like it-address everything from anxiety disorders to emotional problems. There's nothing shameful about spending time focusing on issues you think need to be worked out. If anything, it's admirable.

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As we all know, life can be stressful-but life under a big blinding spotlight? That kind of pressure can feel straight-up inescapable, as many stars can attest. Selena's been on TV since age 7, when she joined the cast of Barney, and she literally hasn't stopped since-until, well, December. A vacation deserved, we'd say.

This isn't exactly out of left field. At the end of 2013, Selena canceled the remaining dates of her Stars Dance tour and released the following statement: "My fans are so important to me and I would never want to disappoint them. But it has become clear to me and those close to me that after many years of putting my work first, I need to spend some time on myself in order to be the best person I can be." Around that same time, she posted an introspective snapshot on Instagram captioned, "I'm the happiest I've been in a while. So blessed and thankful for the future, for release and to finally be happy for those I loved."

The best news? Now she's back and better than ever.

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