Mariah Carey has revealed that she has bipolar II disorder. The singer was diagnosed with the mental illness in 2001 but claims she had been living in denial about it for years. It took the “Emotions” singer years before accepting her diagnosis. Now, she is revealing it to the world.
“I didn’t want to carry around the stigma of a lifelong disease that would define me and potentially end my career,” she said, “I was so terrified of losing everything, I convinced myself the only way to deal with this was to not deal with this.
Carey also told “People” that she is “actually taking medication that seems to be pretty good.” She said her disorder involves periods of depression and also hypomania. The hypomania is less severe than the mania associated with bipolar I, but it still causes the singer irritability and sleep issues.
Carey’s diva-like and sometimes unusual behavior has been mocked over the last few years, particularly after a New Year’s Eve performance had a lot of people concerned about her. Apparently, there was a serious reason to be concerned.
The singer says she decided to seek treatment and go public after having a very challenging last couple of years.
Mariah is hoping that by going public with her bipolar diagnosis, she can help ease the stigma surrounding this mental illness. “I’m hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone,” she stated. “It can be incredibly isolating.”
“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me. It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore,” Carey said. “I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music. As hard as this is, I also knew it was time to finally share my story
In addition to taking medication, Carey is seeing a therapist to help her work through this. It’s rather brave of her to step out of the shadows about her diagnosis. Not only will she have the support and prayers of her fans, but she will help spread awareness of this disorder.
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Source: People
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