In a recent interview with Elle Mexico, April cover star Camila Cabello spoke on how connecting to her culture through language helps bring her back to the lighthearted moments of her youth.

“When I speak in Spanish, the young parts of me come out, the ones that have been in my subconscious since I was born [when] I lived in Cuba and Mexico,” she said, according to an English translation of the interview.

Cabello, 25, was born in Cuba and lived between there and Mexico until the age of 6, when her family moved to the United States.

The “Havana” singer shared that when she speaks Spanish, she feels connected to her life before fame and the anxiety and burnout that can come with it.

“It’s my most childish and innocent self, before the struggles and confrontations with mental health issues and everything that comes with growing up,” she shared.

Cabello has been open in the past about her struggles with mental health.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Cabello noticed that she was starting to burn out but lied to herself about how she actually felt.

“I kept telling myself everything was good, ‘I should feel fine, I should feel OK.’ What I needed to do was say, ‘How do I actually feel?’ and letting that be OK. I needed to give myself permission to ask for help — because I needed help. I needed therapy,” she told the Sun in September 2021.

She added that her pre-pandemic lifestyle was not sustainable and began to infringe on her personal relationships, leaving her feeling drained.

“In the past there were plenty of times when I’ve been working — not home or having any time for relationships, not having time to be healthy and happy — just working non-stop and not feeling good but doing it anyway. That’s something I would never do now. If I felt like that again, I’d just say, ‘Sorry, guys.'”

She sought out help during the COVID-19 lockdown and used the time to take a much-needed break.

“In the past year I’ve got a new therapist, I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel so much better. I’ve been working at such an intense pace since I was 15, so I never got a chance to go, ‘Hey, what does living without this pressure feel like?’ I felt like I didn’t know until this break,” she told the Sun.

Cabello got her start in Fifth Harmony during the second season of The X Factor and left the group in 2016 to pursue solo endeavors.

Getting back to her pre-fame life has helped her come back to a less anxious version of herself, and she told Elle Mexico that she is incorporating more aspects of her culture in her day-to-day life.

“Since last year I try to read and watch more series in Spanish,” she shared. “Spend more time with that side of me: the intact part of my personality, like when a child knows only joy and happiness.”

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