Lady Gaga Says ‘American Horror Story’ Helped Her Combat Her Mental Illness

American Horror Story helped Lady Gaga combat her mental illness, the singer and actress says. She suffers from anxiety and depression, and takes medication to help both. Acting has helped her in a way that the medication never has.

Lady Gaga joined the American Horror Story cast this season, and plays The Countess, owner of the Cortez Hotel. While the show has seen a decline in figures this season, it has not put FX off another season. The show will come back for a sixth season next year, but fans are unsure who will return with it. Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson have shown interest, but fans want to see Jessica Lange back. There are some questioning whether the Poker Face singer will make a return.

The singer says that her first day on set was the most nerve-wrecking experience. She spent days preparing, worried that she would mess up somewhere. She was even throwing up in a bag in her car, which she found, and still finds funny, saying that she brought it to the set, according to Metro.

This is not the first time Lady Gaga fans have found out that she has a mental illness. In 2014, she shared an update on her own website to talk about depression, and about how it can change into a full blooming flower. Depression and anxiety are still surrounded in stigmas, but the actress and singer wants to raise awareness, along with many other celebrities. Talking about her own experiences may help others seek the help that they need.

“Depression is just like any season, it will change, and before you know it you will see the first flower blooming. Then another. Then another. Before you know it your whole life will be in bloom. And you’ll no longer remember the winter.”

–Lady Gaga

However, it appears that medical help may not be the only, or the most successful option for some. Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stephanie Germanotta, has admitted that acting has helped combat her mental illness more than her medication. She is especially thankful to American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy for giving her the chance to play The Countess.

Lady Gaga has certainly turned the character of The Countess into her own, and she is a character nobody should cross. In last week’s episode, she went as far as killing Tristan, played by Finn Witrrock, after finding out about his affair with Denis O’Hare’s character, Liz. Now there are questions over whether Liz will counter that attack, as Tristan was the transgender character’s first love.

Vanity Fair shares that season six of American Horror Story has now officially been confirmed, and Lange could return. She did say that she would return if Murphy asked her, but not in the way she has before. Every other season, she has played one of the main characters, featured in the majority of episodes. She decided to step away from the show after season four, saying that Murphy would struggle to create a better character than Elsa Mars. That would not stop her from returning for a small part.

“If Ryan came to me and said, ‘Would you want to do a small character for a couple episodes?’ I would absolutely say yes if I liked it.”

–Jessica Lange

Lady Gaga is so brilliant in AHS Season 5 that yesterday I officially asked her to join Season 6. Say yes @ladygaga!

— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) October 6, 2015

Those who are not fans of Lady Gaga may be disappointed to hear that Murphy does want the Bad Romance singer back. He tweeted that he had requested for her to return for the sixth season, but she has not yet fully confirmed her commitment. She did retweet Murphy’s tweet, which would suggest that she is at least strongly thinking about it. If it is helping her mental illness, she may be more open to returning, but it could depend on the character the producer has in mind.

“Next year we might do a fall American Horror Story and a spring. We have to decide… The next thing we’re crafting up is very, very different than this. Not smaller. But just not opulent. More rogue and more dark.”

–Ryan Murphy

Nobody knows what American Horror Story season six will entail. Ever year it has been completely different, although seasons are connected. This season has seen numerous connections to Murder House, season one of the show. There is the possibility that season six will connect to season three, as that is the only one not to be connected to another season so far.

[Featured photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images]