Mariah Carey is the latest music star to open up about mental illness in hopes of changing attitudes.
In an interview published Wednesday, the 48-year-old mother of 6-year-old twins said she is being treated for bipolar disorder.
“Until recently I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” Carey told People. “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 said for a long time she thought her symptoms – including insomnia, hyperactivity and irritability – were signs of a severe sleep disorder.
“I was irritable and in constant fear of letting people down. It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania,” she recalled.
“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.”
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Carey told People she is on medication and working to find “the proper balance.”
She added: “I’m just in a really good place right now, where I’m comfortable discussing my struggles with bipolar II disorder. 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.”