Taking care of her mental health informs Kesha’s routine every single day. “I have a support system in place [of therapists] that I speak to weekly or monthly,” she tells @selfmagazine. At home, she’s attuned to what she eats not only to support her ongoing bulimia recovery, but also because it makes her happy: “[After] not allowing myself to eat or enjoy food for so long in my life, I really turned a corner, and now, I fucking love food. I started cooking; I go to the farmer’s market.” When she tours, she maintains a routine that ensures she doesn’t lose sight of what she needs to feel her best. “I always have three meal breaks, ’cause being in recovery, I need to have time to sit and have a meal,” Kesha says. “I have about 30 minutes before I go on stage where I meditate, stretch, and do breathing exercises. People probably think I’m back there doing shots, and [my routine is] the most Zen shit you’ve ever seen.” It’s important to Kesha that others know that eating disorder recovery is possible. “No one could have told me this 10 years ago, but…freedom from that obsession is there. It takes work to get there. But sitting here knowing that I don’t count any calories, I don’t know what my pant size is, and I don’t weigh myself is so beautiful.” Tap the link in bio to read the full story. Credits: Photographer: Jason Kim (@jasonkimstudio) Stylist: Kat Typaldos (@kattypaldos) Hair: Owen Gould (@owengould) Makeup: Sandy Ganzer (@sandyganzer) Manicure: Miho Okawara (@mihonails) Set Design: James Lear (@jameslear) Editor in Chief: Rachel Miller (@the_rewm) Writer: Amy Rose Spiegel (@verymuchso) Creative Director: Amber Venerable (@avenerable) Production: Melissa Kramer (@melissa.j.kramer)

Our June cover star Kesha (@iiswhoiis) opened up about the legal and medical challenges she’s faced—and how she keeps herself feeling strong and self-possessed on a day-to-day level: She meditates. She exercises. She does her very best to open herself to the everyday ecstatic whenever she encounters it. Kesha knows life can be painful. But just as much as she accepts anger and sadness and illness, she’s striving to let in whatever shred of bliss comes her way. “When you can find joy in things, let yourself feel the joy,” Kesha says. “That’s an everyday mantra for me.” Tap the link in bio to read the full interview. Credits: Photographer: Jason Kim (@jasonkimstudio) Stylist: Kat Typaldos (@kattypaldos) Hair: Owen Gould (@owengould) Makeup: Sandy Ganzer (@sandyganzer) Manicure: Miho Okawara (@mihonails) Set Design: James Lear (@jameslear) Editor in Chief: Rachel Miller (@the_rewm) Writer: Amy Rose Spiegel (@verymuchso) Creative Director: Amber Venerable (@avenerable) Production: Melissa Kramer: (@melissa.j.kramer)

Introducing @selfmagazine’s June cover star, Kesha (@iiswhoiis). You likely got to know her through hits like her chart-obliterating 2009 breakthrough, “TiK ToK,” or 2010’s “We R Who We R,” on which she sings, “Got that glitter on my eyes, stockings ripped all up the side, looking sick and sexified.” Now, at 36, Kesha wants to talk about her more recent philosophies, which guided the creation of her new album, “Gag Order.” Written at the height of pandemic, the project directly confronts feelings she’d long avoided dealing with. “With this album, it was the first time I shed real light on subjects that, previously, I was too nervous to. I didn’t want to bring people down—I really like to make people move their energy and dance and be happy,” Kesha says. “But I was doing myself a disservice as an artist to just placate what I felt like people wanted from me. I had to shed light on the darker sides of what happens in my mind. This was me saying, ‘Yeah, I’ve had this self-imposed, implied gag order since I can remember, ’cause I’m still in litigation.’” As Kesha continues to deal with a nearly-decade-long legal battle, she’s also adjusting to a new health diagnosis: common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), a condition that puts her at an especially high risk of developing recurrent, and potentially serious, infections. And she’s opening up another recent medical scare that almost took her life in January. In an exclusive interview, Kesha discusses her practices for working through anxiety and anger, how CVID has informed the way she cares for herself, and why writing her latest album helped her move through it all with a newfound sense of grace. Tap the link in bio to read the full story. Credits: Photographer: Jason Kim (@jasonkimstudio) Stylist: Kat Typaldos (@kattypaldos) Hair: Owen Gould (@owengould) Makeup: Sandy Ganzer (@sandyganzer) Manicure: Miho Okawara (@mihonails) Set Design: James Lear (@jameslear) Editor in Chief: Rachel Miller (@the_rewm) Writer: Amy Rose Spiegel (@verymuchso) Creative Director: Amber Venerable (@avenerable) Production: Melissa Kramer (@melissa.j.kramer)

Creating music has always been therapeutic for Kelly Clarkson, who wrote upwards of 50 songs following her 2020 split from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock. Still, the singer understandably needed extra support through her divorce, which she ultimately found in a combination of therapy and antidepressants. “I looked at my therapist and I just couldn’t stop sobbing, and I was like, ‘I actually had to cancel some of the other day because I couldn’t stop crying. I cannot do this,’” Clarkson said in a recent appearance on the Las Culturistas podcast. "And it was one of those things where I really had to put my pride aside.” That was when, she said, she decided to try medication: Clarkson took Lexapro, a drug used to treat depression and anxiety, for two months. “It was, honest to God, the greatest decision ever. I wouldn’t have made it [without it].” Tap the link in bio to read more about her experience.

So many of us have a love-hate relationship with summer. On the one hand, the season can bring more leisure time, whether we’re on a school break or taking a big chunk of our hard-earned PTO. On the less-bright side, summer is loaded with body image triggers. Clothes are more revealing (because who wants to wear pants and long sleeves when it’s 80-plus degrees out?). Social events like weddings and barbecues can make you feel like you’re on display (and probably put you in front of cameras more often than usual). And despite the growing movement toward body acceptance, there’s still plenty of cultural pressure to “slim down for summer.” (Ugh.) While many of these are unavoidable, it’s possible to navigate them in a way that allows you to enjoy the sunny season without a constant cloud of self-critical thoughts hovering over you. Check above for some of our best advice on how to deal with a bad body image day, and tap the link in bio to read more.

If there’s one thing we can collectively agree on when it comes to tech culture, it’s that it’s given us all pretty sucky posture. The time many of us spend hunched over computers and cell phones can have some distinct physical effects: Prolonged sitting can cause posture changes, like the flattening of the spine’s normal curve and chronic muscle deconditioning, which can make your muscles fatigue faster during workouts. So when certified running coach Ashley Mateo (@ashleymateo) came across fitness apparel brand Forme—which prides itself on using posture correcting technology—she was intrigued. Can a pair of leggings really make you stand up straighter? Mateo put them (and a sports bra) to a two-week test to find out. Tap the link in bio for her final verdict.

The 2023 SELF Healthy Beauty Awards are here, and we want to celebrate with YOU. Try out some of the winners by using our new filter, exclusively on @youcamapps. Tap the link in bio to download it now!

Chances are, you’ve experienced the fresh hell that is waking up with an ultra-inflamed eyesore of a zit—or a crop of pesky pimples—smack dab on your chin. It’s as if these face invaders came out of nowhere, and you’re not alone in wondering what the heck causes them to rear their ugly head(s). If you’re reading this, you may already know that acne is annoyingly complicated, and there likely isn’t just one factor causing your chin pimples. That said, there’s a reason we dedicated an entire article to learning how to keep your chin in check. Tap the link in bio to read more.

Are dating apps self-care for Scarlet Envy (@scarletenvy)? How about birthday dinners? For our latest round of Self-Care / Don’t Care, the #DragRace star—who recently appeared on @nbcweakestlink—answers our rapid-fire questions.

It may be hard to believe, but Gabrielle Union’s confident Instagram captions and celebratory selfies weren’t always so second nature. Union got her start in entertainment by responding to modeling casting calls, auditioning for small roles, and entering beauty contests, many of which slammed the proverbial door in her face. “I just wanted it so badly,” she told Krista Smith on a recent episode of Netflix’s Skip Intro podcast. “And it’s beyond being chosen for a role, it’s feeling like I was chosen because I was attractive…. I didn’t care if you thought I was a good actor, I just wanted to know that someone outside of my parents thinks I am cute, attractive, lovely, whatever.” After some soul searching, Union realized her insecurities ran deep.These days, she says she leans heavily on therapy, self-love, and familial reconciliation to cut through those earlier feelings of rejection. All of it has helped her become the unapologetic person she is today. Tap the link in bio to read more.

Skier Mikaela Shriffin (@mikaelashiffrin) knows a thing or two about a comeback: After experiencing devastating losses at the Beijing Olympics in 2022, Shiffrin broke records at the 2023 World Cup, where she now has 88 wins under her belt. For @selfmagazine’s new series, “Inside Game,” where professional athletes dive deep into the mental health challenges they’ve experienced competing in high-level sports, Shiffrin reflects on how she copes with the performance anxiety that shows up on competition day. “Some days I win that battle and some days I lose it,” she says. Check out the full interview with Shiffrin here, and stay tuned for more episodes of “Inside Game” coming soon.

For the LGBTQ+ community, music has always been a part of the ongoing fight for liberation; the canonical gay anthems—with their themes of survival, acceptance, and self-love—have been a meaningful source of queer joy and connection for decades, and still are today. In honor of Pride month, we’ve curated the ultimate playlist that will lift you up, brighten your spirits, and help you feel like your best, queerest self. Tap the link in bio to tune in.