Mariah Carey has sensationally revealed her long-running battle with bipolar disorder.
In a cover interview with People magazine, the We Belong Together star confessed that she was first diagnosed with the disorder in 2001 when she was hospitalised after suffering a physical and emotional breakdown, but she refused to believe it.
The pop diva only recently decided to seek treatment, and is now in therapy and taking medications for bipolar II disorder, a condition which involves periods of depression as well as hypomania, which can cause irritability, sleeplessness and hyperactivity.
“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.
“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.”
Mariah, mother to six-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with her ex-husband Nick Cannon, explained that for a long time she just thought she had a sleeping disorder, and was irritable and on edge about letting people down so she worked incessantly.
“It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania. Eventually I would just hit a wall,” she revealed. “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 has decided to come forward with her battle now because she wants to help lift the stigma surrounding mental health and make sure others don’t go through it 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,” she stated.
Mariah posted the People story on social media on Wednesday alongside the caption: “I’m grateful to be sharing this part of my journey with you.”