Lady Gaga has spoken for the first time about dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The Joanne singer visited the Ali Forney centre in New York back in November, which came out when she appeared on the Today Show on Monday (December 5).

“I told the kids today that I suffer from a mental illness,” she said when filmed after the visit. “I suffer from PTSD. I’ve never told anyone that before, so here we are. But the kindness that’s shown to me by doctors as well as my family, and my friends, it’s really saved my life.”

“Meditation helps me to calm down,” she said, detailing how she struggled with mental illness “every day”.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is an anxiety disorder that can be brought on by a traumatic or distressing event, or prolonged experience.

Lady Gaga later tweeted: “Today I shared one my deepest secrets w/ the world. Secrets keep you sick w/ shame.”

Two years ago, Gaga spoke about how she had been raped when she was 19-years-old by a man 20 years older than her. She told the Howard Stern Show at the time that her track “Swine” was written about rape. After providing a song for The Hunting Ground documentary about sexual assault and rape in college, Gaga detailed the prolonged affect it had on her.

Speaking further with the Today Show, she talked about the importance of spaces like the Ali Fourney: “These children are not just homeless or in need; many of them are trauma survivors, they’ve been rejected in some type of way. My own trauma in my life has helped me to understand the trauma of others.”

“It’s really important to remind kids who are suffering from a traumatic experience or from abandonment, to remind them that they’re not alone, and that they’re loved,” she added. “We are in this together.”

As reported by BBC News, a person at the youth centre said: “Lady Gaga's act of kindness today was a reminder that love still exists - and that there's still some for me.”