When we think of people who are famous, successful and very, very talented, one that comes to mind almost immediately is Lady Gaga. She is a Grammy winner, Golden Globes winner and Academy Award winner. She’s even launching her own beauty line.

It seems impossible to think that someone with so much success, so much talent, and let’s be real, so much money, could ever feel anything less than happy.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga sat down with her mom and talked openly about the struggles she has gone through in her life. Not only does she feel less than happy sometimes, but there are actually times that she feels worthless.

Watch the interview below.

If Lady Gaga struggles with self-confidence, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s mom sheds some light on this issue. You see, Lady Gaga has struggled with her mental health since she was a teenager. This actually isn’t all that uncommon. In fact, half of people who struggle with their mental health first develop these issues before they’re 14 years old.

Germanotta didn’t know the warning signs of mental health issues. She didn’t know the difference between the normal struggles that teenagers go through and the extra struggles that are brought on by mental health issues.

To try to help other parents, Germanotta wrote an article for Prevention in which she shares several tips about how to help your children if they’re struggling with mental health issues.

First of all, she says that it’s important to listen to them. She also warns that parents shouldn’t listen “so that you can try to fix the problem.” That can be a hard pill to swallow for parents. We often want to fix things for our children.

No, parents need to listen “so that you can understand and validate their emotions…it can help demonstrate to your child that you care, that you are there for them, and that you aren’t going to judge them.”

Germanotta knows first hand that it’s hard for parents to know the warning signs of a mental health issue, so she suggests parents educate themselves through programs like Mental Health First Aid.

Finally, Germanotta recommends finding resources in your community that can be helpful to your children and making sure your children know these resources exist. Many children struggling with a mental health issue want help but they don’t know where to turn.

Do you know anyone who is struggling with a mental health issue?