Lady Gaga opens up about PTSD after sexual assault in empowering and inspiring speech

It's a well known fact that we, the human race, don't deserve Lady Gaga. Alongside being a multi Grammy Award-winning musician, she's also a huge campaigner for LGBT+ rights, mental health, women's rights and more.

Last night, she consolidated this status with an incredibly empowering and inspiring acceptance speech at the Elle annual Women in Hollywood awards.

Taking to the stage in an oversized Marc Jacobs trouser suit, she discussed mental health, sexual assault, the patriarchy, and the beauty standards placed on women in Hollywood.

Mid-way through the speech, she explained why she had decided to wear a suit, not a gown, and that when she put it on, she burst into tears and suddenly felt 'like myself today':

As a sexual assault survivor, by someone in the entertainment industry, as a woman, who is still not brave enough to say his name, as a woman who lives with chronic pain, as a woman who was conditioned at a very young age to listen to what men told me to do, I decided today, I wanted to take the power back. 

Today I wear the pants. Today I wear the suit. 

Gaga also focused on her experiences with mental health issues after a sexual assault at the hands of someone in the music industry, which she suffered at the age of 19.

She explained that after it happened, part of her shut down, and that she wasn't offered any of the mental health assistance that she was in dire need of at that time:

I had to go to the doctor, because I didn't know what was wrong with me, and then I was diagnosed with PTSD, and fibromyalgia, which many people don't even think is real... and I don't even know what the f*** to say about that!

After mentioning her friend Lena Dunham, who also suffered from fibromyalgia, she then continued to talk about mental health:

Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, trauma, these are just a few examples that can lead to this tornado of pain.

Finishing her speech, she said:

I want to see mental health become a global priority.

Gaga for president!

More: Lady Gaga's powerful defense of Christine Blasey Ford is leaving people speechless

More: This 2012 Lady Gaga tweet just became a meme