No more denial as Mariah Carey says: I’m bipolar
MARIAH Carey has revealed she has sought treatment for her bipolar disorder.
The US superstar told for the first time how she was diagnosed with the condition in 2001 when she was treated in hospital for a mental breakdown.
The 48-year-old told People magazine in the US: ‘I didn’t want to believe it. 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 any more. 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.’
She said it gave her sleepless nights. ‘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.’
The singer, who often jokes on stage about her reputation as a diva, explained why she has come forward.
‘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.’
The condition could have contributed to the collapse of Carey’s engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer in 2016.
Packer, 50, is himself having treatment at a $35,000-a-week psychiatric clinic after he stepped down as head of a casino empire.
Author: Andrei Harmsworth
