--- 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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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=03137699-dfed-41f6-a33a-a1f59e9a1b1d&cr=time-nl-health-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 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 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 [00:00] When she was diagnosed, she didn't want to believe it. [00:02] She really thought that there was gonna be a stigma [00:05] attached. She thought it could maybe end her career. [00:08] And all of this time she's also lived in fear that [00:10] someone was going to expose this secret, right? So it's [00:13] been very difficult going untreated But at times [00:18] being very high functioning. At other times there was [00:20] erratic behavior that we saw. This is why. She [00:24] finally after the last couple of years, which she calls the [00:28] toughest couple of years that she's been through. She [00:30] finally came to the conclusion that she really needed to [00:34] get help. And so she got therapy, [00:38] she's on medication, she came to a very, very good [00:41] place. She says she's surrounding herself with the right [00:45] people and positive influences. And so, she came [00:48] forward in part to just kind of free herself of this [00:51] secret. So she could stop worrying that someone else [00:54] was going to expose it. And she had also been very [00:57] inspired by other celebrities who had come forward [00:59] with, you know, mental illness and mental health [01:01] struggles. And she's hoping that she can have the [01:05] same sort of positive impact that they've had for other [01:07] 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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