Just over six years ago, Mariah Carey appeared on the cover of People Magazine and gave them an exclusive interview. Mariah candidly described her lifelong battle with bipolar disorder. But has she provided any health updates since then?
When Mariah released her memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” in 2020, fans and critics questioned why Mariah didn’t go deeper into her bipolar diagnosis. A reviewer in the LA Times even suggested that Mariah was depriving “readers thirsty for tea” about scandals like her fallout with Eminem or personal setbacks like her mental health issues.
The only further clue that Mariah provided in the book was a therapist who allegedly labeled her behavior as somatization, which is a mental health condition that can cause “pain” or “neurologic issues.”
While Mariah didn’t provide the health update that fans were craving, her memoir contained explosive allegations about growing up as a biracial kid from a broken home in Long Island, New York. Mariah alleged that her opera-singing mother neglected her, and her older sister offered her illegal substances when she was a pre-teen. Allegedly, Mariah’s sister Alison threw a boiling cup of tea on Mariah when she was 12, and Mariah required urgent medical care.
Mariah also experienced shocking bigotry from the white kids at her school, and she used her incredible vocal talent to escape her grim childhood. When she was 18, Mariah signed a record deal with Sony Music in New York.
It Took Mariah Two Decades to Seek Help
She ended up marrying the much older boss of Sony Music, Tommy Mottola, but the marriage was a disaster. Mariah made serious allegations about Tommy in her memoir, accusing him of “effectively imprisoning her” in his upstate New York mansion.
She also alleged that Tommy became furious over their broken marriage after Mariah’s short, secret affair with baseball star Derek Jeter. Mariah claimed Tommy held a sharp weapon against her face and threatened her in front of a group of people.
In the 2018 People exclusive, Mariah publicly revealed to Jess Cagle, editor-in-chief, that she found out she had bipolar disorder after suffering a mental and physical breakdown in 2001. Mariah told Jess, “I didn’t want to believe it.”
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It took almost two decades for Mariah to seek treatment for her bipolar disorder. She admitted to Jess, “I lived in denial and isolation and in constant fear [that] someone would expose me.”
Mariah admitted that her hidden health condition was “too heavy a burden to carry, and I simply couldn’t do that anymore.” She claimed she surrounded herself with “positive people” and returned to writing songs and making music — what she’s always loved to do.
When she began therapy, Mariah discovered that her condition is bipolar II disorder, which medical specialists claim is “less severe” than bipolar I. However, bipolar II symptoms like irritability, hyperactivity, and sleeplessness are still difficult to manage.
A lack of sleep became a huge issue for Mariah. She mistakenly thought she had “a severe sleep disorder” for a long time before she sought treatment for bipolar II.
Mariah Realised That Mania Was a Part of Her Bipolar Cycle
Mariah clarified that she wasn’t suffering from “normal insomnia,” either. She confessed that she was “working” instead of sleeping and “was irritable and in constant fear of letting people down.” Mariah eventually realized that was the “mania” part of her bipolar cycle.
She said, “Eventually, I would just hit a wall.” The depressive part of her bipolar resulted in “low energy” and feeling “so lonely and sad.”
Mariah revealed she was prescribed helpful medications that seemed to be “pretty good” and weren’t making her feel “too tired or sluggish.” She told People, “Finding the proper balance is what is most important.”
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Three years ago, in March 2021, Page Six reported that “a growing number of celebrities” had revealed they were “living with bipolar disorder,” and Mariah was among them. Page Six printed a general definition of bipolar disorder from the Mayo Clinic, explaining that the condition might cause “extreme mood swings that include emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression).
According to Page Six, other celebrities with either form of bipolar disorder include Kanye West, Mel Gibson, Demi Lovato, and Bebe Rexha. Allegedly, the late actor Carrie Fisher and the late singer Sinead O’Connor also dealt with bipolar disorders.
After she revealed her bipolar II disorder, Mariah claimed she was in “a really good place,” and she was comfortable discussing the situation publicly. Mariah told People, “I’m hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone.” Mariah confessed it had been “incredibly isolating,” but she refused to “allow it to define me or control me.”
