Lady Gaga has disclosed that she was taking the mood stabiliser lithium while filming the 2018 remake of 'A Star Is Born', describing the period as a challenging time in her life. The singer and actress, who won an Oscar for the film's song 'Shallow', told Rolling Stone that she experienced a psychotic break during the accompanying tour for her album 'Joanne'.
“I did A Star Is Born on lithium,” Gaga said. “There was one day that my sister said to me, ‘I don’t see my sister anymore.’ And I canceled the tour. There was one day I went to the hospital for psychiatric care. I needed to take a break. I couldn’t do anything … I completely crashed. It was really scary.”
Lithium is commonly prescribed for bipolar disorder and manic depression. Gaga previously addressed her mental health struggles in her 2020 single '911', which referenced her reliance on antipsychotic medication. She now describes herself as “a healthy, whole person”, crediting her fiancé Michael Polansky with helping her recovery.
“Being in love with someone that cares about the real me made a very big difference,” she explained. “How do you learn how to be yourself with someone when you don’t know how to be yourself with anyone?”
Gaga noted that she has since reduced her medication intake. “I’m on some, yeah, but not as many. I weaned off of a lot of them,” she said. The star is set to appear in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2', scheduled for release on May 1, 2026.
