Mariah Carey says she’s bipolar

Mariah Carey, the superstar singer who has lived in the public eye for three decades, has acknowledged that, in 2001, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Carey disclosed the diagnosis in an interview with People magazine. A preview of the magazine’s cover story was published online Wednesday.

In the interview, she explained why she had not previously revealed the diagnosis.

“I didn’t want to carry around the stigma of a lifelong disease that would define me and potentially end my career,” she said. “I was so terrified of losing everything.”

Carey said she had lived in “denial and isolation and in constant fear someone would expose me,” and came forward after the burden became too heavy to bear. She is in therapy and taking medication for bipolar II disorder, a disease that can cause sudden and extreme shifts in mood, among other symptoms.

Carey was a teenager in the late 1980s when she was recruited by Tommy Mottola, the president of what was then CBS Records, to become a pop star.

The latter half of her career has been characterized by inconsistent performances, and a string of high-profile relationships.

Carey told People that she had decided to speak partly on behalf of others who might be suffering.

“I’m hopeful we can get to a place where the stigma is lifted from people going through anything alone,” she said. “It can be incredibly isolating. It does not have to define you and I refuse to allow it to define me or control me.” Carey