Mariah Carey Opens Up About Her Struggles With Bipolar Disorder

Mariah Carey Opens Up About Her Struggles With Bipolar Disorder - Page 4

The iconic singer spent a lot of time suffering alone.

Mariah is now seeing a therapist and taking medication for bipolar II disorder, which involves periods of depression and also hypomania (hyperactivity, sleeplessness).

“For a long time I thought I had a severe sleep disorder,” explained Mariah. “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.”