Justin Bieber is using social media once again to speak about his mental health struggles, revealing he abused “heavy drugs” as a teenager in an emotional new post.
The “I Don’t Care” singer, who stepped away from music earlier this year to address “deep-rooted issues,” penned a candid essay on Instagram Monday night about the toll early childhood fame has taken on his relationships and sense of self-worth.
“Have u noticed the statistics of child stars and the outcome of their life,” he wrote. “There is an insane pressure and responsibility put on a child who’s brain, emotions, frontal lobes (decision making) aren’t developed yet.”
The 25-year-old traces his troubles to an unstable home ― his parents split months after Bieber was born and his father was largely absent from his life until recent years. He says this experience made him unprepared for the rollercoaster of teen pop stardom.
Fame, he admits, warped his world view and allowed him to skirt major life lessons like the “fundamentals of responsibility,” leading him down a dangerous path.
“I was 18 with no skills in the real world, with millions of dollars and access to whatever I wanted,” he wrote. “This is a very scary concept for anyone.”
At 19 years old, Bieber says he “started doing pretty heavy drugs” and “abused all my relationships,” admitting that he was “disrespectful to women” and angry.
“I made every bad decision you could have thought of and went from one of the most loved and adored people in the world to the most ridiculed, judged and hated person in the world.”
The pop star faced a string of legal troubles in his late teens and was arrested multiple times in 2014 from charges ranging from reckless driving and vandalism to a DUI and assault. More recently, a former choreographer and dancer on his world tour accused the singer of “degrading women” and paying her “less than minimum wage.”
The tumult in his personal and professional life thrust him into a depression and even made him question his will to live at his lowest point.
“Sometimes it can get to the point where you don’t even want to live any more,” he wrote.
Bieber, however, credits his new lease on life to his religious faith, a support system of friends and family and his marriage to Hailey Bieber, which has taught him, “commitment, kindness, humility, and all of the things it looks like to be a good man.”
“It’s taken me years to bounce back from all of these terrible decisions, fix broken relationships and change relationship habits,” he continued. “Luckily god blessed me with extraordinary people who love me for me. Now I am navigating the best season of my life.”
After a secret courthouse ceremony last fall, the couple is currently planning to celebrate their nuptials in a religious ceremony that will reportedly take place this month in South Carolina.