Gaga was forced to cut her 2017-2018 Joanne World Tour short due to her ongoing battle with fibromyalgia, described by the star as “severe physical pain that has impacted her ability to perform.”
In an interview with Vogue, Gaga revealed how frustrating it is to have an illness that many people don’t accept is genuine. “I get so irritated with people who don’t believe fibromyalgia is real,” she said. “For me, and I think for many others, it’s really a cyclone of anxiety, depression, PTSD, trauma, and panic disorder, all of which sends the nervous system into overdrive, and then you have nerve pain as a result. People need to be more compassionate. Chronic pain is no joke. And it’s every day waking up not knowing how you’re going to feel.”
As part of her drive to increase awareness about fibromyalgia, which causes many symptoms, including extreme tiredness, headaches, bloating, muscle aches, and difficulty sleeping and concentrating, Gaga made a Netflix documentary, “Gaga: Five Foot Two.”