Artists on supporting their mental health with life choices and therapy

In the photo:

Jameela Jamil: What do I do to manage my mental health? So I've had therapy. I had EMDR therapy. That's eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy.

I also have unfollowed anyone who triggers me on social media.

So if that's someone who makes me think too much about food or think too much about my body or anyone who makes me feel like my clothes aren't nice enough or I don't have nice enough things or I don't go into nice enough hotels and sit on nice enough balconies in like weird fancy mountainous regions of France.

I just don't follow anyone who makes me feel like my life isn't good enough because why do I have to expose myself to that?

Russell Brand: Most of the therapy I've been fortunate enough to have, particularly as an adult, since I've been earning money, although in the early part of my life I was getting some free therapy

But many of us don't address the deep motivations and fears that are secretly governing our lives. I am fond of saying when talking about the 12-step program that I use to which I've been given and taught to help with my own mental health flaws and failings that you don't make a choice between having a program and not having a program.

Selena Gomez: You don't want to ever feel like you're doing the wrong thing. I believe that everyone deep down knows what's right and what's wrong.

And when you're at your rock bottom, if you will, because I believe that everybody does eventually have one of those moments, hopefully it's just going to get lighter and lighter because you can start to attack it in a way where, How do I approach this and figure out how to get myself out of this state of mind?

And I've learned how to do that in the past few years and I'm really grateful for it.

~~~

Psychotherapist Mihaela Ivan Holtz, Psy.D., LMFT of Creative Minds Psychotherapy helps creative people in TV/Film, performing and fine arts, and writes about the emotional and creative pleasures - and challenges - of their inner life as artists.

She notes "Therapy is a powerful transformative journey that can take you from feeling unhappy and stuck to living with emotional freedom as a fulfilled creative or performer."

» See more in her article on her site: Are Your Emotional Issues Affecting your Creativity and Artistic Career? Psychotherapy Can Help.

See more of her perspectives below.