Selena Gomez Announces Wondermind, An All-New Mental Health Platform

On Nov. 18, Selena Gomez announced Wondermind, an all-new mental health platform that will launch in Feb. 2022 that aims to help destigmatize mental health. She created it along with her mother, celebrity producer Mandy Teefey, and Daniella Pierson, founder and CEO of The Newsette. “We were inspired to create Wondermind after Mandy, Selena, and I came together and realized there was no place that felt inclusive, entertaining, and safe to learn about and practice mental fitness — so we made it,” Pierson tells TZR in an email. “We are creating a mental fitness ecosystem, which includes a production arm, daily content arm, and physical product arm. Our mission is to create the world's first mental health aisle at global retailers.”

As Pierson mentioned, it will be made up of three main components: Platform, Podcast, and Products. The platform will be a content hub, as well as a daily email newsletter led by Pierson; there will be a weekly podcast hosted by Teefey wherein she’ll have all kinds of guests, from therapists and athletes to politicians and celebrities, and more; and there will be a line of physical tools — starting with a journal — to help people track their mental fitness journeys.

Speaking of which, Wondermind was inspired by the founders’ own mental health journeys. Gomez has been open about her depression and anxiety, Pierson has struggled with mental health since she was six years old and was diagnosed with OCD at 21, and, as an adult, Teefey was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with trauma. “I have always felt different, even at a very young age,” Teefey tells TZR in an email. “The older I got, the more I understood I couldn’t handle the tough moments that I went through, not even understanding what was happening. I went through 15 therapists in my 20s, tons of medication trials, and I was misdiagnosed as bipolar.” To find some solace, she went on a path to research and educate herself on anything related to being bipolar, she says. “I learned tools and grew with other people… I think that is what we need in this world again: being a community that grows together — without judgment — and a desire to understand each other.”

That’s exactly what Wondermind hopes to achieve — creating content that changes the narrative of how mental health is portrayed, Teefey says. “And by having everyday conversations about how normal it is to be on overload or lost, and how to gain new perspectives in different mediums.”

When asked why it’s important for people to take care of their mental health, Teefey says they like to call it “mental fitness.” “Our minds are products of environmental and emotional changes throughout our life, and if it can be formed that way, we can form better habits that stay with us,” she says. Pierson seconds that sentiment. “Everyone should treat their mental health just as they would their physical health,” she says. “If you had a heart problem or injury, you would treat it without question. So why don't we have the same mindset when it comes to our mental health?”

Teefey says that she, Gomez, and Pierson are extremely excited to share their stories — three women from three different generations with diagnosed mental health issues who have been successful. “[We] want to show everyone [that] it takes growth and work, but you are not your diagnosis and unable to live a fruitful life,” she says. “I think that is a huge misconception!”

Disclosure: Bustle Digital Group is an investor in Wondermind.