In the new video for Disease, Lady Gaga battles different versions of herself

Ahead of the video’s release, she shared the meaning of the song on her Instagram.

“I often think about my connection with my inner demons,” she writes. “It’s hard for me to admit how much I’m drawn to chaos and disorder. It makes me feel trapped, claustrophobic. Disease is an attempt to face those fears, look at myself and my inner darkness, and realize that sometimes I can’t rid myself of the parts of me that scare me. I might try to run, but they’ll still remain a part of me, and one day I’ll face them again, even if just for a moment. Dancing, morphing, running, purging. Over and over, back to myself. Accepting this has become something beautiful for me because it’s mine, and I’ve learned to handle it.”

Gaga concluded: “I am the conductor of my own symphony. I am every actor in the plays that make up my art and my life. No matter how scary the questions, the answers are already inside me. They are essential, inseparable parts of who I am. I save myself by moving forward. I am whole, I am strong, and I am ready for the challenge. Happy Halloween.”

Disease was released last Friday, after fans noticed hints of its release on the Universal Music website, where a pre-order section had appeared. Gaga also released a playlist on Spotify where capitalized and lowercase letters spelled out “Gaga Disease.” This led to a special website with snippets of the song’s lyrics.