KATY Perry has opened up about her struggle to deal with the negative response to last year’s album Witness, admitting she felt bouts of “situational depression.”

“Music is my first love and I think it was the universe saying: ‘Okay, you speak all of this language about self-love and authenticity, but we are going to put you through another test and take away any kind of validating “blankie.” Then we’ll see how much you do truly love yourself,’” she said in the August issue of Vogue Australia.

Despite debuting atop the Billboard 200, Witness garnered mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. Perry, 33, was pained as a result.

“I have had bouts of situational depression and my heart was broken last year because, unknowingly, I put so much validity in the reaction of the public, and the public didn’t react in the way I had expected to … which broke my heart,” she said.

Perry retreated to California’s Hoffman Institute (a mental health retreat) in January to focus on herself.

“For years, my friends would go and come back completely rejuvenated, and I wanted to go, too,” Perry explained. “I was ready to let go of anything that was holding me back from myself.”

The experience wasn’t lost on the pop star, who says she’s grown from the setback.

“That brokenness, plus me opening up to a greater, higher power and reconnecting with divinity, gave me a wholeness I never had. It gave me a new foundation. It’s not just a material foundation: It’s a soul foundation,” Perry said.

This story originally appeared in the NY Post and is republished here with permission.