--- title: Mariah Carey Has Bipolar II Disorder. What's That? description: Singer Mariah Carey shares her decades-long "struggles" with bipolar II disorder, a mental health condition with extreme mood swings. canonical: https://time.com/5236032/mariah-carey-bipolar-ii-diagnosis/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-04-11T12:57:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:05:47.009Z article:section: Health og:title: 'It Can Be Incredibly Isolating.' Mariah Carey Opens Up About Her Bipolar II Disorder og:description: She was diagnosed in 2001, but never spoke publicly about it og:url: https://time.com/5236032/mariah-carey-bipolar-ii-diagnosis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0936e611bf9870de/69892d59e76ad2779e631a79/mariah-carey.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4200 og:image:height: 2363 og:image:alt: Nickelodeon's 2018 Kids' Choice Awards og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'It Can Be Incredibly Isolating.' Mariah Carey Opens Up About Her Bipolar II Disorder twitter:description: She was diagnosed in 2001, but never spoke publicly about it twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0936e611bf9870de/69892d59e76ad2779e631a79/mariah-carey.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'It Can Be Incredibly Isolating.' 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=51882ed3-c299-4dfb-83a5-9bec2a18326c&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: PEOPLE Exclusive: Mariah Carey on Why She Kept Her Bipolar Disorder Hidden for Years: 'I Lived in Denial and Isolation' [Watch (HLS stream): PEOPLE Exclusive: Mariah Carey on Why She Kept Her Bipolar Disorder Hidden for Years: 'I Lived in Denial and Isolation'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/r1vHDb8K.m3u8) (1:08)  _Published 2018-04-11. PEOPLE’s Editor-In-Chief Jess Cagle breaks down the exclusive Mariah Carey cover story_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 11, 2018 12:57 PM UTC  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Apr 11, 2018 12:57 PM UTC Pop star Mariah Carey revealed her “struggles” with bipolar II disorder, after almost two decades of silence. “I’m just in a really good place right now, where I’m comfortable discussing my struggles with bipolar II disorder,” the [singer told _People_](http://people.com/music/mariah-carey-bipolar-disorder-diagnosis-exclusive/)_._ “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.” Bipolar II is a mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings that vacillate between emotional highs and lows, [according to the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH)](https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml). Unlike bipolar I, bipolar II does not typically include manic episodes — long-lasting highs so extreme they may prompt reckless or dangerous behavior, and even require hospitalization — but it still involves mood swings and resulting sleep, energy and behavioral disturbances. Carey told _People_ she was first diagnosed with the condition in 2001, after being hospitalized for a physical and emotional breakdown, but she “didn’t want to believe it” at first. After a difficult personal stretch, the artist said she is now in treatment — and ready to share her reality with the world. “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.” In going public, Carey joins a group of celebrities who have recently decided to discuss their mental health, including [NBA star Kevin Love](http://time.com/5187641/kevin-love-panic-attacks/) and model [Chrissy Teigen](http://time.com/4691692/chrissy-teigen-postpartum-depression-essay/). ## Transcript When she was diagnosed, she didn't want to believe it. She really thought that there was gonna be a stigma attached. She thought it could maybe end her career. And all of this time she's also lived in fear that someone was going to expose this secret, right? So it's been very difficult going untreated But at times being very high functioning. At other times there was erratic behavior that we saw. This is why. She finally after the last couple of years, which she calls the toughest couple of years that she's been through. She finally came to the conclusion that she really needed to get help. And so she got therapy, she's on medication, she came to a very, very good place. She says she's surrounding herself with the right people and positive influences. And so, she came forward in part to just kind of free herself of this secret. So she could stop worrying that someone else was going to expose it. And she had also been very inspired by other celebrities who had come forward with, you know, mental illness and mental health struggles. And she's hoping that she can have the same sort of positive impact that they've had for other people. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5236032/mariah-carey-bipolar-ii-diagnosis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5236032/mariah-carey-bipolar-ii-diagnosis/"},"headline":"'It Can Be Incredibly Isolating.' 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