Mariah Carey has revealed she suffers from a bipolar disorder in a new interview.
The world renowned singer revealed that she was first diagnosed in 2001 when she was hospitalized for a physical and mental breakdown. She initially “didn’t want to believe it.”
Carey is now in therapy and taking medication for bipolar II disorder, which involves periods of depression as well as hypomania.
She told People (via EW): “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. 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.”
The pop star revealed how she initially thought that what she had was a severe sleep disorder, explaining, “But it wasn’t normal insomnia and I wasn’t lying awake counting sheep. I was working and working and working... I was irritable and in constant fear of letting people down.
“It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania. Eventually, I would just hit a wall. I guess my depressive episodes were characterised by having very low energy. I would feel so lonely and sad — even guilty that I wasn’t doing what I needed to be doing for my career.”
She said that she now feels comfortable talking about her struggles and diagnosis as she is “in a really good place right now.”
She added: “I’m hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone. It can be incredibly isolating. It does not have to define you and I refuse to allow it to define me or control me.”
