Selena Gomez Launches Wondermind Mental Health Platform, Says "It's OK to Not Be OK"

Selena Gomez is turning her years of mental health advocacy into something more tenable. Today she launched Wondermind, a mental health company she'll head with her mom, Mandy Teefey, and media entrepreneur, Daniella Pierson, who previously founded The Newsette. Wondermind was described in a press release as a platform that "destigmatizes and democratizes mental health." Teefey said, "We hope to be the one stop shop for all mental fitness and conversation."

So, what exactly will the "ecosystem for mental fitness" entail? The website will serve as the main hub with daily content, interviews with experts, and other tools and resources — free of charge. There will also be a weekly podcast featuring a variety of guests, including therapists and celebrities who are known for their mental health advocacy. "We'll talk to prominent psychiatrists and therapists who charge a thousand dollars an hour and share their resources. We'll also interview celebrities and ask them questions most people don't ask," Pierson said in an interview with Entrepreneur. In an interview with Good Morning America this morning, Gomez said, "We want to be that place where people feel comfortable to talk about the things under the hood. I really want people to be understood and seen and heard. It's OK to not be OK."

When Gomez revealed she had bipolar disorder in 2020, she said, "It was really freeing to know that information. It made me really happy because I started to have a relationship with myself, and that's the best part."

Taking care of your mental health is so important, especially recently with the pandemic. So many people are struggling, and dealing with so many emotions, and "this emptiness that they're not used to navigating," Teefey said. "You should be working on your mental fitness just like you work on your physical fitness," Pierson added.

Image Source: Cara Robbins

The eventual goal is to expand Wondermind into a production company that also releases books, exercise journals, and streaming content. Its founders have experience in that capacity, as Teefey was an executive producer on "13 Reasons Why" along with Gomez. "Something I've always tried to do in my career is make sure I lend my voice to places where it matters," Gomez told Entrepreneur. "And I have to give my mom credit for that because she taught me everything."

The platform is personal for all three founders: Pierson has an obsessive compulsive disorder diagnosis; Teefey is open about her experience with anxiety, ADHD, and unpacking childhood trauma; and Gomez has spoken publicly about dealing with anxiety and depression. "Every person has their own mental health journey," Gomez said in the Wondermind press release. "If we ignore them, pretty them up or hide them from the world, it doesn't change that they are very, very real."