For Camila Cabello, making new music is therapeutic.
On May 26, Camila appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show where she opened up about her "crippling anxiety." She discussed how creating her third album "Familia"—which was released on April 8—helped her be more vulnerable when it came to her mental health.
"At the beginning of this album I was having such a bad time mental health-wise," Camila said. "It was crippling anxiety that was really hard for me. I feel like because I was in that place, I isolated a lot."
The "Don't Go Yet" singer explained that she felt like she needed to be "healed or in a better place" before she was able to hang out with others and be herself.
While working on the album—which is dedicated to her family—Camila was able to be extremely vulnerable and built the same familial relationship with her musical collaborators. "It's about my actual, real family and the roots of that, but also I feel like the family I made while making this album," she shared, adding that she was focused on opening herself up to "friendships and community."
Camila said the experience shifted her mindset about how she makes music. "Sometimes I felt like even being in the studio felt performative," Camila said. "Like, I want to prove that I'm a good writer and that I'm good."
The process eventually changed her life outside of the studio. "Starting to be open with the collaborators in the studio process extended into my real life," Camila said. "Suddenly I was like ‘Oh, I can be really anxious and still hang out with my friends and just tell them about my baggage.'"
Camila previously also credited therapy for changing her life in an episode of E! News' Daily Pop.
"My life was so bad and so painful that I was like, ‘If you tell me that eating s--t off the ground will make me feel better, I will do it,'" she shared. "I was like, ‘Yes, of course, therapy. All of it.'"