Justin Bieber was ‘telling people his truth’ when he posted about feeling ‘disconnected’

Over the weekend, Justin Bieber posted the above Instagram, where he talks about feeling “super disconnected” and like he’s struggling a lot. It’s been about a month since People Magazine confirmed that Justin receiving treatment for depression, and it’s been more than a month since Vogue published their cover story with Justin and Hailey Baldwin, a cover story in which he sounded like A LOT to deal with, and like he was too codependent on Hailey. Sources went to People Magazine (again) to explain what’s going on with Justin these days, and yes, he’s still in therapy. Which is good news.

Justin Bieber revealed he has been “struggling a lot” in an emotional Instagram post — and a source tells PEOPLE it’s all part of his recovery process. The “Love Yourself” singer, 25, shared his message on Saturday, writing that though he feels “super disconnected and weird,” he has faith that he will bounce back. A source tells PEOPLE that Bieber’s transparent message about his struggles was a “big step” for the star, who PEOPLE confirmed in February has been receiving treatment for depression.

“The whole point of counseling and therapy is to get to the bottom of why you feel the way you feel. Once you reach the truth about yourself, you tell other people the truth,” the source said. “This was Justin being authentic and telling people his truth. So that Instagram post was an important part of his recovery.” The source continued, “It was a big step for him to do that. He was a little nervous about being public, but he also knows that his road to improvement comes with this level of honesty. He decided that now was time to address things, and to let everyone know what’s going on.”

Following Bieber’s decision to seek treatment, an insider told PEOPLE he was “feeling very positive” and working hard to uncover “some root issues” through counseling sessions with both spiritual and secular components from pastors and licensed professionals.

[From People]

After reading the Vogue interview, I came away with so many thoughts about Justin and how he’s dealt with his issues and how he continues to deal with them. Like, I had no problem with the fact that he stopped having sex for months in an effort to just put the sexual politics of life on hold for a time. I also didn’t have a problem with Justin openly being an emotional mess, and dealing with that head-on. My biggest issues are that this is A LOT to deal with in the first year of a marriage, and I worry that the marriage to Hailey is part of the problem. I’m also concerned about this: “through counseling sessions with both spiritual and secular components from pastors and licensed professionals.” I mean, pick your poison. Either commit to doing the long-term work with a licensed professional therapist who trust, or don’t. Don’t bounce around specialists and pastors and healers and snake-oil salesman and try to do it that way.

Justin Bieber returning to Hailey Baldwin's apartment

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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28 Responses to “Justin Bieber was ‘telling people his truth’ when he posted about feeling ‘disconnected’”

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  1. me says:

    Getting married so young and so quickly probably wasn’t a good idea. But to be honest, I’m also skeptical about him posting this now, right when he is also promoting his clothing line “Drew”.

    • Kitten says:

      I’m as cynical as the next person but I can’t imagine that he’d lie about this to promote an album….

      • me says:

        Oh I’m not saying he’s lying about his mental health…I’m thinking he’s “talking/posting” about it now so his name is in the news as he has his clothing line to promote.

  2. Valiantly Varnished says:

    I disagree with you on this Kaiser. It’s not about “picking your poison”. As someone who has suffered from depression having help on both a medical and spiritual level helps a LOT of people. It certainly helped me. You can in fact do both. You can deal with the situational and/or chemical
    Imbalances with medication and therapy and look to your belief system to help you through that. Isn’t that what AA is centered around? Working out issues on both practical and spiritual planes. Of course not evetybody needs or wants that. But it’s about doing what works for you and your belief system.

    • Arpeggi says:

      Although I’m an atheist and don’t practice any form of spirituality, I agree that working on both aspects might be beneficial. Though if your spiritual counselling is done through that stupid Hillsong cult he goes to, that might be actually detrimental. That “church” only cares about getting your money

  3. MissyS. says:

    All of that fame at such a young age would be harmful to just about anyone. He also didn’t have a stable relationship with his parents and had too many “friends” who used him and encouraged his bad behavior. Justin is an adult now, so it’s encouraging to see him take responsibility for his actions. I hope he gets proper treatment and takes a break from the spotlight. I also hope he and Hailey seek counseling to have a healthy marriage.

  4. runcmc says:

    I read an interesting take on this- that Justin is only accepting that he has issues and working on them because Hailey is encouraging him to take control of his mental health. In that angle, it seems like it’s *good* for their marriage. I mean most of us would have encouraged him to do the work before choosing to marry, but if she’s leading him to being a healthier person with better coping mechanisms, then she’s good for him full stop. I hope someone is there for Hailey when she needs the support though, because Justin does not sound like he has the emotional capacity to be there for her right now (and I don’t mean that judgmentally- he clearly has enough to deal with as it is).

    • Mary says:

      Hopefully she is in something like Al-Anon and receiving private counseling separately from Bieber.

  5. ccsays says:

    Feels like a bit of a Britney thing where the people around him all want to keep the gravy train going rather than get him on a loooong hiatus so he can actually get the help he needs. I’m no fan but it feels like he’s being exploited from all angles. Extra side eye to the creepy “pastors” round about him 😒

  6. B n A fan says:

    He’s not going to feel connected as long as he’s using drugs. In that picture on this thread he’s high, IMO. Also, he needs a good psychologist to help him, this may takes years of treatment. He needs to follow his treatment plan and stop self medicating. Also, find a cause to give back, volunteer to help the less fortunate, he can start there. Another thing, he should start appreciating how blessed he is.

    • Livethelifeaquatic says:

      YES! He looks like he is using in the recent photos of him. Eyes glassy, skin terrible. It’s very obvious

    • Mary says:

      what do you think he is on?

      • B n A fan says:

        Not going to speculate, IMO, he’s on drugs. I work with drug addicts, I know the signs, the 👀.

      • Mary says:

        got it

        I was just wondering what kind of drug could make him have such bizarre behavior, the mood swings and depression and all that

        maybe he is self medicating with drugs to cope?

        i’m no expert just been hearing the drug rumor for years and no clue what it is

    • Pandy says:

      Agree, was thinking drugs cause a lot of disconnection.

    • SK says:

      Normally I would agree, but I have a friend who joined the competing church to Hillsong in Australia – C3 and I’ve seen this look before – completely drug free. I went with her to church to check it out and see what she was talking about, and they all went down the front and got “touched by the spirit” and fell down on the floor convulsing. I’ve also seen her get “taken over” and converse in tongues. She got married super young and now runs a super hipster offshoot of that church in Brooklyn with her husband. If this is taken in Church – which from his messaging about church and their “spiritual” poses I gather is the case; then it’s highly likely that these three are all in some kind of mass-induced spiritual frenzy or moment which can mimic drug use and give a “high”. It actually alters people’s heart rates and induces a group delusion of sorts and euphoria. Really fascinating if you read up on cults, religions, war prep, etc. I totally believe he uses drugs but in this case this looks like a church high to me.

  7. Lynnie says:

    He needs to get off the drugssssssss and ditch his whole entire crew and circle, because they’re toxic as well. As long as they’re still around they’ll clean him up enough so he can continue earning money and then repeat the cycle when he starts crashing again. He reminds me of another Demi.

    • Kitten says:

      When my ex went into rehab he was told to sever all ties with people who do/did Oxycontin and basically anyone who he had a drug connection with. He was literally forbidden to talk to them–write them..call them..email them etc. It’s a brutally difficult thing to do for a lot of addicts who consider these people family but it really is essential. The bond that you form through shared drug use can be a really strong one but that’s precisely why it’s so dangerous. It’s so easy to get pulled back into that web and relapse becomes an inevitability.

  8. Lizzie says:

    my SIL was sadly raped in college and she was encouraged by the faith counselor at her christian college, the only person she told, to keep it a secret, pray and try to focus on her purity. 3 years and over 100 lbs of weight gain later she finally broke down and told her mom as if she were confessing a crime. if your faith leader doesn’t encourage you to see a doctor to deal with trauma – they are hurting you.

  9. shirurusu says:

    I can understand why he would want to be open and post about his problems, it probably feels really freeing to have people know about it, at the same time though, people now a-days can be soooo shitty in their responses to other people’s suffering, I’m not sure it’s a good idea for him to really be so open about it. Not because there’s anything wrong with telling the truth, but because people are too eager to jump on him or eventually use this kind of stuff against him. I get where he’s coming from but maybe it would be better (for him) to handle it in private with professionals without also having to fend off other people’s reactions to his posts? I’m not even a fan, I just feel sorry for him, I don’t think his fan base is mature enough to be understanding of his mental health issues.

  10. jules says:

    That photo though. I’d be feeling disconnected and weird if I was stuck between kanye and scooter.

  11. Kitten says:

    If he was manic then I’d say the shotgun wedding would fit but he hasn’t said as much, only that he’s depressed so who knows. But yes, ITA that this probably won’t end well.

    I honestly just feel awful for him because severe depression is no joke. And while I’ve had my issues with Bieber’s behavior (I think we all have), I’m not one to kick someone when they’re down. If the drug rumors are true then it’s probably even worse than we imagine. I said on a recent thread about Justin and Haley that the photos made me think “drug buddies” and I stand by that. *IF* he’s using I bet dollars to donuts that she is, too and if that’s the case, he likely won’t get better.

  12. Yes Doubtful says:

    I really wonder why Hailey married him. Is it just for clout? Or she thinks she can “save” him? I would not want a child for a husband. It’s unfortunate that poor parenting and being insanely famous at an early age has stunted his growth like this. It makes me wonder why any good parent would ever want their young child to be famous?

    • me says:

      I don’t know, but for a 21 year old Hailey sure has a lot on her plate. She’s too young to have to worry about all of this…but hey she chose her path.

  13. Erin says:

    Wish the best for him. Glassy eyes could be from taking mood stabilizers or antidepressants combined with smoking weed, which I’m not gonna fault him for given the alternatives. He seems to have a good level of self awareness about things.

  14. Blocked cause I AM says:

    I feel bad for them both. Him , because clearly he is struggling. Hailey because she is going to get the short end of the stick in this marriage. It won’t last. If the first few months “are really hard” it won’t last. Marriage should be a breeze while in the honeymoon stage. They don’t have money problems. Or work problems. Family problems…meh? But, she better use this marriage for all its worth. Once he is on the “path to health”, she will be a part he wants to leave behind IMO.