Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Lindsey Bever.
After years of suffering in silence, Mariah Carey is opening up about her battle with bipolar disorder.
“I refuse to allow it to define me or control me,” the singer-songwriter told People magazine in a recently published interview.
The 48-year-old star described how the illness has affected her and how she has tried to cope.
“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 disorder, also known as manic depression, is a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings, from “ups” (mania) to “downs” (depression), according to NIH’s National Institute of Mental Health.
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There are several types of bipolar disorder. With bipolar I disorder, people may experience severe manic episodes that last a week or more and oftentimes require hospitalization, followed by even longer periods of depression, according to NIH. With bipolar II disorder, the “ups” are not as severe and are referred to as “hypomanic” episodes instead of “manic” episodes, according to the agency.
The singer’s diagnosis
In 2001, Carey checked herself into a hospital for what her former publicist called “an emotional and physical breakdown.” She was placed under psychiatric care.
Share this articleShareThe former publicist, Cindi Berger, said in a statement at the time that Carey had fallen ill after finishing filming two movies, “Wise Girls” and “Glitter,” for which she also produced the soundtrack.
It was during that 2001 hospitalization that doctors diagnosed Carey with bipolar II disorder. It was something she “didn’t want to believe,” she told People.
“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” Carey told the magazine. “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.”
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Carey said she is now managing her bipolar disorder with therapy and medication.
“I’m actually taking medication that seems to be pretty good. It’s not making me feel too tired or sluggish or anything like that. Finding the proper balance is what is most important,” she told People.
Why she’s sharing her story
Carey said she is speaking out about her battle with bipolar disorder because she wants to help eliminate the stigma associated with such conditions.
“I’m just in a really good place right now, where I’m comfortable discussing my struggles with bipolar II disorder,” she told People. “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.”
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