Mariah Carey Reveals That She Suffers From Bipolar II Disorder

Mariah Carey has revealed she was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder back in 2001. The 48-year-old musician “didn’t want to believe it” at the time, but she has recently begun treating her disorder after she endured “the hardest couple of years” she’s lived through, she said in an interview with People magazine that was published on Wednesday morning.

MARIAH CAREY REVEALS HER BIPOLAR II DISORDER DIAGNOSIS

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

Carey was hospitalized back in 2001 for “a physical and mental breakdown.” For years, however, she believed she had a “severe sleep disorder.” Not merely a simple case of insomnia, however, as she lay awake feeling “irritable and in constant fear of letting people down.” She continues, saying, “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.” Carey evidentially was suffering through “a form of mania.”

The bestselling singer decided to finally open up about her condition because she’s “in a really good place right now.” She currently has two daughters along with her ex-husband Nick Cannon, and she continues to perform her craft. Carey is optimistic society can advance to a point where people no longer need to hide their mental illnesses out of fear, confessing how lonely doing so is. Carey closes the interview by addressing her bipolar II disorder, proclaiming, “I refuse to allow it to define me or control me.”