Self
15 Of Lizzo’s Best Quotes On Mental Health
Including her go-to trick for anxiety.
If there's been a bright light in the last few years, it's Lizzo. From the hair-toss of Truth Hurts to the chest-beating soulfulness of Cuz I Love You, her music's gotten a lot of people through their hardest moments, thanks to the singer's glorious self-confidence, brilliant fashion, and emotional honesty. But beyond her music, Lizzo's quotes about mental health have gotten a lot of people through similar hard times.
She's the first to acknowledge her own struggles with depression, anxiety, and worries about being good enough, whether it's on Instagram or in cover stories with British Vogue or Elle. She's been there, seen it, done the therapy, and learned about emotional communication and the value of self-care — and, as she revealed to David Letterman, treating her depression by microdosing with magic mushrooms. And she's here to tell us all about it, breaking stigmas left and right in the process.
Here are some of Lizzo's most insightful quotes about mental health, what it's taken to find peace, and what she's learned about getting through the difficult times. Nothing is taboo in the world of Lizzo, and everything, including mental health and loving yourself, is a work in progress.
On Sadness
“I’ve used sadness so constructively in the last two years. After working on being emotionally honest, I’ve used sadness as a tool for gratitude. It’s humbling and I’m grateful that I’m able to feel these emotions, because I know that because of the sadness, I’m gonna be able to feel joy.” — Instagram, June 2019
On Body Dysmorphia
"I've come to terms with body dysmorphia and evolved. The body-positive movement is doing the same thing. We're growing together, and it's growing pains, but I'm just glad that I'm attached to something so organic and alive." — Rolling Stone, January 2020
On Anxiety
“I do have anxiety and it’s an interesting part of my experience. My heart is racing and my brain is firing off and I’m just making all these jokes and then I’m like, actually spiralling [sic]. The louder and funnier I am, you should probably ask me if I’m OK." — British Vogue, December 2019
On Self-Love
"We are not given the opportunity to be completely self-loving as we were born to be." — Stylist, October 2019
On Quarantine
"This quarantine has a lot of people suffering from mental health issues because we can’t get out and do our normal coping/self-care routines. Self-hatred was starting to creep up on me but I gotta remember I’m 110% that b*tch, love you!" —Instagram, April 2020
On Body Confidence
"I would watch things on television and I would look at magazines and I would not see myself. When you don't see yourself, you start to think something's wrong with you. Then you want to look like those things and when you realize it's a physical impossibility, you start to think, 'What the f**k is wrong with me?' I think that took a greater toll on me, psychologically, growing up than what anyone could have said to me." — British Vogue, December 2019
On Psychological Toolboxes
"Being in those places is inevitable for me; I’m going to end up there again. But the fact that I’m prepared now to go to those places — and I have a toolbox, and I know I can pull myself out — is really helpful to me in my mental health journey.” — Elle, October 2019
On Breathing Through Anxiety
"I personally didn’t realise [sic] how shallow my breathing was when I was nervous. Breathing is a really important tool in mental health. When I am anxious, the first thing I do is breathe deeper." — Stylist, October 2019
On Anxiety & Performing
“When I get really, really anxious before a show, I just go harder and harder and harder when I’m performing and I just go crazy. I don’t know why, but my anxiety sometimes fuels who I am as a performer and who I am as an artist — and I know that is not the case for everyone. I don’t know if my body just, like, out of a desperate need to find a place for my anxiety or find a use for it, takes it and puts it there.” — British Vogue, December 2019
On Living Your Life Authentically
“I take self-love very seriously. And I take it seriously because when I was younger, I wanted to change everything about myself. I didn’t love who I was. And the reason I didn’t love who I was is because I was told I wasn’t lovable by the media, by [people at] school, by not seeing myself in beauty ads, by not seeing myself in television... by lack of representation. My self-hatred got so bad that I was fantasizing about being other people. But you can’t live your life trying to be somebody else. What’s the point?” — Elle, October 2019
On Nurturing Yourself
“I think if I was 21 right now, I would not be able to maintain this lifestyle without having major anxiety and panic attacks. But thank God, my journey is all about self-care and finding that love for yourself and nurturing yourself. Because that’s what artists need more than anything.” — British Vogue, December 2019
On Bringing The Love Back
"When things get crazy, I like to bring it back to me and ask: what did I eat today? Did I have enough water? And if I am not feeling myself, I like to dial myself up just for me. Take a nude or play around with make-up and try to feel pretty, just for a second. Because I am a giving person and I always worry about the external [stuff], like my job, the first step is bringing that love back to me." — Stylist, October 2019
On Communication
"I was the worst communicator, emotionally, when I was younger. I would stop talking to my family; I would stop talking to my friends. I would go deeper and deeper into that dark place, and the deeper I went, the harder it was to reach out of it.” — Elle, October 2019
On Being Kind To Yourself
"We speak to ourselves so terribly sometimes. If I’m writing something and I mess up, I’m like, ‘I’m so stupid’. It’s second nature to call myself dumb for something that doesn’t deserve that." — Stylist, October 2019
On Reaching Out For Help
"Reaching out may be hard but as soon as I did it, I was immediately covered in love. I used to think of sadness as a constant with fleeting moments of joy in between... but it’s a wave: joy, sadness, joy, sadness, and my sadness can be as temporary as my joy." — Instagram, June 2019
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