STORIES FROM OTHERS: Lady Gaga shares her pain

Image courtesy of Netflix documentary

This is not the Lady Gaga we’re used to seeing, is it? In a new Netflix documentary, Lady Gaga talks quite candidly about her struggle with fibromyalgia. Other celebrities have spoken about how they handle chronic illnesses, but Lady Gaga really didn’t hold anything back (I didn’t think she would).

One quote from a press conference she did shortly after Netflix released the documentary explained why she was so candid:

“My pain does me no good unless I transform it into something that is. So I hope people watching it who do struggle with chronic pain know that they’re not alone. It’s freeing for me…and I want people that struggle with it to hear me,” Gaga said.

She also said, “There is a degree of self-deprecation and shame with feeling in pain a lot. And I want people that watch it — that think there’s no way I live [with chronic pain] because they see me dance and sing and don’t think that could possibly be — to know I struggle with things like them. I work through it and it can be done. We have to stick together. I don’t have to hide it because I’m afraid it’s weak. It’s a part of me, and I’m grateful to Chris for caring. The compassion is overwhelming. That’s why it makes me emotional. It’s very touching.”

I heard so much of the things I think and feel every day reflected in her words. I hope you all have a chance to watch the documentary. If you saw it, what did you think?