Mariah Carey on Her Battle with Bipolar Disorder

MariahCarey

For years and years, we have listened to Mariah Carey’s music and even got super excited for her one-night concert in Manila this coming October. But no one knew, until now, that she was actually suffering in silence.

Mariah was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder back in 2011 when she was hospitalized for her physical and mental breakdown. “I didn’t want to believe it,” she said to People magazine. And believe it or not, she only sought treatment now after what she described as the hardest couple of years.

“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” Mariah said. “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.”

“For a long time I thought I had a severe sleep disorder,” she said. “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 characterized 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.”

Bipolar II actually involves periods of depression and hypomania which is described as a less severe mania associated with bipolar I. It causes irritability, hyperactivity, and so on.

But why now? Mariah said that she’s in a good place right now and is more comfortable discussing her struggles with the disorder. She also said that she is being open about it in the efforts to lift the stigma.

Take care, Mariah and we can’t wait to see you in October.

[People]

Photo courtesy of Mariah Carey’s Instagram account

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