Janelle Monáe on 'luxury' of addressing their mental health: 'Being an artist gets lonely'

Janelle Monáe is in their age of pleasure physically and emotionally.

The "Float" singer, 37, covered Rolling Stone's Pride issue, where they discussed the internal work they've done since their 2018 interview with the outlet, including going to therapy and a weekly meeting with an "emotional support coach."

Monáe said they self-diagnosed themselves with obsessive-compulsive disorder due to their desire to achieve perfection: "If something isn’t exactly how I see it, in my mind, it’s trash."

Since the artist began doing the work internally with the help of mental health professionals, "I know how to coach myself if it comes up again," they added.

Monáe revealed that when they were overwhelmed last year during their press run for "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" and creating their upcoming album "The Age of Pleasure," they had "someone helping me work through my schedule, helping me not feel guilty about saying no to something, because all this affects your mental health."

"Not a lot of people have the luxury of saying or doing what it is I’m doing. I think that therapy, life coaching included, should be free for every American," they acknowledged. "There’s so many people walking around wounded emotionally. We would be better as a country, as a planet, if everybody had the access."

Monáe's album has also served as a guide for how to prioritize themself. "I think being an artist gets lonely," they told Rolling Stone in a behind-the-scenes video. "Most people don’t understand what’s going on in my brain."

"Community has been so helpful to me; it’s beautiful that I have a title called 'The Age of Pleasure' because it actually re-centers me. It’s not about an album anymore," they said, noting they've changed their whole lifestyle.

"The Age of Pleasure" debuts on June 9. It is Monáe's fourth studio album, following their 2018 project "Dirty Computer."