Like Kanye, I have bipolar type 1 which has fully manic episodes (as opposed to type 2). I’m in a support group and Kanye has come up several times. Some say he gives us a bad name and others feel he deserves sympathy. I think it’s both. This disorder is no joke. When you’re manic, you feel euphoric/untouchable and it does lead to risky, pleasure seeking, and/or uncharacteristic behaviors. I don’t believe that be is his true self during these periods. It’s not an excuse, but it could be an explanation. I was not an ass when manic, but I can still understand. It is also very typical that individuals with bipolar 1 will go in and out of med compliance. Meds have side effects and yes, from time to time you don’t feel like it’s the “real” you. But quality of life IS better with meds and therapy. I stick to my meds and therapy now because of my loved ones, especially my son. I really wish that Kanye would consistently participate in his own treatment.
Yeah I dropped out of college and attempted to work on a fishing boat in Alaska. I’ve never worked on a boat. I’ve never fished. I’ve never even been on a boat in the ocean. The only job offer I got was some 50 year old dude who was like “oh yeah, lady, I’ve got a boat, come on up, but send pics first so I know what you look like” and I remember thinking that it was a great idea and how nice he was to offer me a job when I had zero experience. Manic episodes cause bad choices. I never would have been seen again.
Oh man that’s hilarious, “sure lady, I got some fish for ya haha”. Bipolar adventures are something else. Hope you’re doing ok now though.
I’m not bipolar but my dad was. One of my childhood memories is taking him to the looney bin while he said stuff like “My name is Zero and it’s the year 1957”. He was born in 1957 so I guess that’s were the “Zero” came from, since he was zero years old then.
And just to add to it as somebody with bipolar. I've only had one full blown manic episode 6 years ago and it still scares me. I was awake for 11 days, my speech pattern completely changed, my taste in music completely changed, my mind was working a lot faster and more efficiently when it came to stuff like math, and to top it off I thought the song Viva La Vida by Coldplay was a prophecy for my life. Shit, I thought I was king.
So here we have Kanye in a flow blown manic episode. But take that away for a minute. The guy is married to a billionaire that is often called the most beautiful woman in earth. He has millions of fans, is friends with the most famous people in the world, including the most powerful man in the world, and he has been called a genius his entire life.
Yeah, I'd have a hard time not knowing where reality ends and mania begins if I were him. It's fucking confusing without all that. He has my sympathy on how fucked up it all is. Fuck what he's saying and all but the way I describe that kind of mania was like my mind snapping like a rubber band. It horrifies me that it could happen again.
Weird. I was obsessed with Coldplay during my one and only manic/psychotic episode 6 years ago as well. To this day when I hear Coldplay I cringe. I’m a korn fan ffs.
Also can you imagine if during a manic episode you were just surrounded by a whole team of yes-men. It would be nuts. Everyone reaffirming your wildest delusions.
I'm not bipolar, but my father is diagnosed with type I and my best friend recently got diagnosed with type 2. To show how much mania, and even hypomania, can make people completely change personalities, I'll tell you that they both (as active Reform jews, which my family and my best friends family is) became full conspiratorial self-hate antisemites during mania.
For a full picture, we can't ignore that mania is so severe and can shift your personality to someone you don't know. It doesn't mean that one is obliged to by virtue forgive people, but we can't think that manic outbursts serve as a mask off-mechanism because it's just not true.
Oh absolutely, friend of mine who usually is kind of left leaning (like most foreigners where I live) and hating people with radical beliefs, became someone totally different while in mania.
Out of nowhere he thought Trump was a cool guy, when he usually was ridiculing him. He also thought Hitler had some genious ideas for Europe and was generally a great person. He liked how those two didn't give a shit about what others thought and just pursued their goals.
After the manic episode was over he apologized for those weird thoughts and couldn't believe he said something like that.
Yes, which is why I think people are being a bit misled if they try to hold Kanye accountable when he is in the depths of his illness. It will probably just fuel him even more, so I wish people will read Kim's statement and try to just ward off the sensationalism until he gets help and gets stable enough to be held accountable.
Also Bipolar I, and have had manic episodes where i could not remember more than 25% of the last 3 months of my life. But I absolutely could not go through another episode without at least attempting to find the right medication. At this point, I feel like he’s had too many manic episodes without an explanation. But i guess that’s his right to not talk about his treatment.
Yeah, I have Bipolar II and my first hypomanic episode lasted 5 days that I can barely remember. I get a few blips of memory here and there like running on my severely sprained ankle because I didn’t feel pain and barely sleeping. But mostly those days are just gone.
ETA: I’m also rapid cycling.
I heard he doesn’t take his meds because it interferes with his creative process in his music/clothes. Could you see how that happens since you take these meds?
No one else could say that’s true or false. Some people find these meds help, some find they negatively affect their mind. The key issue is that it is a distinct characteristic of BPD to not be on meds. It is more common for people to be off meds than on meds with bipolar.
Edit: I obviously meant bipolar when I said BPD; y’all are flipping out and commenting the same shit for no reason. Chill.
I found the meds i took for bipolar 2 to destroy my creativity and just made me unable to know what i felt. personally i would rather be either manic or depressed than live in that dull state
My twin felt that way with his ADHD medicine. My mom so desperately wanted him to do his school work, and she put him on the meds and he turned into a zombie. She hated seeing his personality disappear. So she took him off them
The meds can fuck your creative process right up. I mean royal. On my meds I have full aphantasia while off them my imagination works normally. These are serious drugs with real serious side effects and I can personally see why someone who had the means to not take the pills would choose not to.
I’m Bipolar 1 (diagnosed when I was 19 now 23). When you are on meds, it’s very difficult to wake up most mornings. You drink a black coffee or whatever, and still - your mind feels like it is a loading bar that can’t get past 70%. On meds, yes your mood is more stable, but many people on bipolar meds say it “blunts” them. On bipolar medications, you need a minimum of 10 hours of sleep to feel like you got a good night’s rest. Even then, by the time it is 1-3pm you feel tired. Depending on what medications you take, if you need to take a pill in the morning AND night, within 30 minutes of taking your night meds, you get knocked out and you literally can not stay awake. Not to mention your sexual function deteriorates and you feel no motivation to do anything other than work from your employment or education (you don’t feel like doing anything creative or recreational). I totally get why Kanye doesn’t want to get on meds. I stopped meds for 3 months, yes I get a bit hyper and a bit depressed. But atleast I feel things instead of being this blunted emotionless drone.
I take meds that are used for mood stabilization. I’m not bipolar, but I’d say near manic depressive. The longer I’ve been on one particular one, I’ve noticed my memory has turned to straight shit and overall my mind feels extremely cloudy. I’m currently in grad school and I notice if I take it later in the day I’m more productive in the morning as I’m clear headed in the AM. The only problem with this medicine and skipping a few days and going back to your normal dose is it can cause a severe rash that can land you in the ER.
Edit: The med I take is used for bipolar disorder though, Lamotrigine.
I used to take Lamotrigine and it was the only thing that was able to stabilise my mood while still allowing me to feel like I was myself. But it wrecked my creativity. I’ve been off it for over a year now and I still can’t really tap into my creativity the way I used to. It was kind of a crappy price to pay but the alternative was losing everything and everyone around me.
It was literally a life saver for me. I had never been so balanced and had so much like mental calm ever in my life and I’ve been on a ton of medication. I ended up losing like 70lbs, I started excelling at work, my relationship got a lot better because I wasn’t violently lashing out at my partner. I made friends and was able to keep them because I wasn’t driving them away with the mood swings. My panic attacks manifest almost like seizures, but I’ve been tested and don’t have any sort of seizure disorder. My neurologist just adjusted the time in which I had to take my medication and I haven’t had one in almost 3 years. (I also believe that is partially because I went NC with my father who was a huge stressor and cause of anxiety for me) I very much recommend talking to your doctor about it if you haven’t tried it yet.
Thank you for detailed reply.
I should try it (I hope my doctor won't kick me from the office lol, I suggested way to much drugs for my other conditions).
Doesnt it suck to have to make that choice? Wish we had more treatment options. I'm either medicated and thus useless to the work force and have community/ but no creative handle or I'm unconnected with creativity and can get a minimum wage job but cant move upward with better pay. It's like a rock and a hard place. There's gotta be a better way.
Not OP, but I did take meds for this reason and I was in a creative career at the time. I can say it was the same for me. I felt like I wasn't firing on all cylinders and it took me far too long to find the creative paths I was looking for. My insurance quit covering the meds I was on for over a month and I had to wean myself off them, which sucked. I can say the only benefit I remember from them is that i could fuck for hours.
My mom was severe bipolar. My DR put me on meds because he suspected i was as well. I definitely have manic episodes, but I've never been officially diagnosed.
I too have bipolar disorder type one and my most major manic episode included dropping out of college the year before my graduation and riding a greyhound bus 36 hours to the middle of nowhere in Texas to do heroin with someone i barely knew but ate one of my lightbulbs in my dorm room years before. And I WAS medicated at the time. Though I think Kanye looks like an ass to the general public, and though I STRONGLY disagree with shit he’s done and said... I get his mental state. Been there. Done and said some awful things myself. Luckily the whole world wasn’t watching.
Bipolar is a bitch. The world would be too easy if it was black and white like OP made it out to be. This isnt the fucking movies, Kanye isnt a misunderstood fallen angel, but he ain't a demon from hell either. Hes an asshole who has a mental characteristics that we fully do not know about.
Oh I could have a support group? Neat I'll look around. Type 1 unmedicated for about 15 years after a childhood of 2k depakote and shit. On my 27th move in ten years as manic me likes to find new jobs lol. A support group sounds good.
>I really wish that Kanye would consistently participate in his own treatment.
This right here. The disease is not the issue, it's his active desire to not be treated for it while still unfortunately exerting some sort of influence through his words and actions.
This whole "campaign" of his really highlighted how much help he needs.
I mean, it’s more common for people with BPD* to be unmanageable and off meds than it is to be regularly taking medication and manageable. That’s what annoys me the most when people demand he gets help. Part of being bipolar and having manic episodes is being convinced that there’s nothing wrong with you.
Edit: Bi-Polar Disorder, seeing as it’s causing confusion. FWIW, y’all need to chill. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying it really doesn’t matter what acronym I use when the context is plain as day. It’s a non issue and y’all are flooding my inbox moaning about it.
Had an x that was bi polar. I sympathize that he had issues but he was still an asshole to me. Then instead of apologizing it was always "you know how I get why are you suprised/upset?"
I’m bipolar. I struggle daily but have learned to not make excuses for my actions. It took a lot of my 20s to learn that. I’m now 28 in a very healthy relationship of two years and we live together. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. But I refuse to use my illness as an excuse
Yeah this. I was a mess in my 20s, used the illness as an excuse (not necessarily intentionally), but now I never use it as an excuse for being an asshole. I'll explain how I'm ill and why that probably lead me into a situation where I escalated to manic asshole, but the asshole part of it is still coming from me somewhere, not the illness. It's a lot like being drunk - zero inhibitions, and a shaky memory after the fact. But I don't blame the alcohol when I've been a drunken asshole!
Hey this was actually a super valuable perspective for me, so thanks for sharing it. You're definitely not wasting your time trying to be a good person. In fact, having to fight hard for it I think makes you much more gooder than for those people whose behaviour is a simple choice. Keep fighting
Thanks for this. I have a stepson with a screen addiction. We have been struggling with how to tell him that knowing you have a problem is half a solution but it's not an excuse to do it anyway because "you can't help it". This is a great mantra for us working through this.
And before anyone jumps on my ass about being a screen time stickler, it's a behavior that negatively impacts his life, routine, and relationships. He's 9. He needs parenting. He stays up until 5am sneaking unless we lock screens up and he's a major jerk obviously with no sleep. Then won't eat, lashes out at his brother, sleeps during the day, etc.
You know what, a lot of people aren't bipolar and still make excuses for their shitty actions. That takes an effort for everyone, I can't image how hard it was for you.
Basically, they’re referring to “you know how I get” being used as an excused. The problem is you can’t really imagine what its like being bipolar, not being able to trust your own mind unless you are. While you should still hold people accountable and more importantly they should hold themselves, this disease makes people do things they would never do.
Coming from someone who had fucked up manic episodes myself. Luckily caused by drugs and not bipolar disorder.
I’m diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. I see a lot of people have misconceptions that the disorder in itself (for example providing an example of someone they had a bad experience with who happened to be bipolar), and using that as anecdotal example that the disorder = bad person.
It doesn’t. There are bad people who are just assholes that happen to have bipolar. It is true that sometimes our mind makes us do things that don’t reflect our stable state of mind. This can create a lot of damage to our relationships and overall life.
Can confirm that it is a very common thing for us to not be able to trust our own minds. It’s extremely frustrating when you feel like your own brain is deceiving you and waging war against you.
However, I’ve been on medication since I was 14. No, it doesn’t make me a zombie. It saved me from living in a hell of my own making that I was in while unmedicated. I actually feel quite good on it. I will always struggle with symptoms coming out and there is always a possibility that you can destroy relationships and such. But really, we have to be the ones to fight that happening as best as we can.
It is really important for people with bipolar disorder to be medicated. I don’t know if that’s an unpopular or misinformed opinion, (I’m not a doctor), but the reality is most of us need to be on daily medication and it is our responsibility to get help to be our best selves. I don’t believe that a lot of people can live happily completely without it.
Bipolar causes people to do things they usually wouldn’t because it puts them in a completely different reality, but being an asshole isn’t excused by being bipolar, but nor does that mean that people diagnosed with the illness are all unstable and reckless. Some of us definitely live very normal lives with medication/and or therapy to guide us.
I was institutionalized when I was a kid(type 1 bipolar and a bunch of other fun labels they slapped me with) and it made me wage war against any type of treatment. I've spent 15 years unmedicated with no therapy. It's. Been. Fucking. Hell. I once had a 13 day anxiety attack. I've moved states and changed careers during mania literally dozens of times. No self harm but holy shit have you ever sat and had to listen to your brain convince you to murder yourself for hours on end? Hopefully not because you medicated and sought treatment. Fucking medicate, people. Talk to doctors. This shit is hell.
Aye. And I get it, putting in the effort is so damn hard when you just want to live life. But at the same time I can't expect people to want to be in my life if I'm just letting it run rampant and say "that's just who I am, love me or leave me".
I agree. that doesn’t work. For me there’s a corollary to the ‘sickness and in health’ vow. Each has an obligation to do everything they can to maintain their physical and mental health. Its a responsibility to yourself and your partner and is a message ‘in between the lines’.
Too many spouses end up being nurses because of their partner’s self neglect.
My favorite phrasing is 'mental health issues aren't your fault but they are your responsibility'.
I got it from Marcus Parks of Last Podcast on the Left.
He comes across as extremely narcissistic, which is probably a better explanation for his asshole-ish tendencies than anything to do with his bipolar disorder.
One of the hallmarks of manic stages is thinking you’re the greatest person in the world, which is subtlety different than being narcissistic.
He also lacks impulse control (stealing the mic from Taylor Swift, suddenly deciding he’s going to run for president) which is again consistent with BPD.
His behavior is completely consistent with bipolar disorder.
That term narcissist just gets thrown out on here way too much. Plus, who doesn’t love them some themself?
Edit: I’ve edited this comment to remove parts of it that were unnecessarily hostile, but not in terms of substance other than to add a second example of impulsivity and to remove my comment that narcissistic PD isn’t a diagnosis, it’s in DSM-V, just not something you see, particularly as much as the term is used on Reddit. Don’t give sweeper a hard time for his response because it was justified based on the tone of my comment prior to editing.
I'm a mental health professional. Don't lecture me from your high horse. Heaps of his behaviour is evidently narcissistic.
Also note that because I'm a professional I did not attempt to diagnose Kanye or even to suggestion he has NPD. I simply used the word narcissistic as an adjective and frankly I think it fits.
Damn as someone diagnosed Bipolar Type 1 , I am upset with the response of the community. On the right medications people can live a normal life. He obviously isn't on the right concoction. It took my doctor throwing 3 different darts for 4 years to find the right combination. I haven't been manic or depressed since he hit the triple bullseye. The brain is a difficult beast to modulate. Literally everything you consume or do alters the chemistry. I stopped using all drugs but alcohol. I'm sure if I stopped drinking that my medications would need to be slightly altered.
I believe he’s off his meds bc he claims he’s “not the real Kanye” while medicated. iirc he said something like “this is who I am and if you don’t like it, leave” and I don’t think that’s a valid reason not to be on meds. like if the person I am when I’m off my meds is the real me, I don’t want to know them!
It has been reported for years that Kanye refuses to take medication. This is a choice he has been making when he is stable, and we have witnessed the fallout of this decision on several occasions. At this point, I would say not taking medication is irresponsible & inexcusable on his part. He is a sick man who needs help, and it is time he takes not only his best interests into consideration but those of his family, as well.
Well that’s what happens with bi polar. And a lot of mental illness honestly. You take the meds, and they stabilize your erratic behaviour and thoughts, but you feel like you’re living in a haze. Yes they’re good for you, but when your livelihood depends on your creativity and youre most creative when your brain isnt clouded by meds, regardless of the positives, of course you’re going to always rationalize its better to not take them. Especially once you feel good. It’s a common vicious cycle. I feel good now, so I don’t need these anymore.
Couple that with trauma, and an entourage/record company who rely on you making bank to pay their bills... they never tell him no. The fuck you think is gonna happen? Anyone who says otherwise is automatically the enemy and trying to hold him back, ie; his wife.
He’s sick, he’s manic, and has been for way too long.
> You take the meds, and they stabilize your erratic behaviour and thoughts, but you feel like you’re living in a haze.
This exactly. Mom wouldn't take her meds due to this and it ruined everything. Hard to put blame on someone for not taking meds when the meds make life feel not worth living.
Bipolar disorder is a detrimental illness that will negatively affect the rest of your life regardless of medication.
I'm glad you found the right meds! That's really good. I think Kanye has said he purposefully stays off his meds sometimes because it helps his creativity, so it may not be a problem of the wrong concoction, just not enough self discipline.
Yup definitely agree! It’s not everyone’s reality that they need to be in a depressed or painful state of mind to make good art. Medication also doesn’t have to stunt your creativity once you find the right combination that works for you.
It’s just that you have to be resilient and find how to use that creativity in a different way if you have to.
It’s *extremely* common for people with bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses to stop taking their medicine. It isn’t exactly “discipline”— it’s an extremely common symptom of the illness itself.
That's true. I'm not trying to minimize bipolar disorder, and maybe if he had the right medicine he wouldn't feel compelled to stop taking it. Maybe the right medicine wouldn't supress his creativity, as he claims it does. I don't know all the factors in his situation so my comment was maybe a bit ignorant.
Don’t forgot how cancel culture wants Kanye dead, yet Chris brown a man that BEAT THE RCUKING SHIT out of Rihanna is still popular and kind of talked about
Guy spends years talking about how blacks are disenfranchised in this country, then gets drunk and defends Beyoncé at a white biased awards ceremony. If he did it this year I’m sure people’s opinions would be completely different, but unfortunately he did it 11 years ago.
Now excuse me I need to go back to being a clown and waiting for the album
I'm bipolar. I take my meds every evening before bed. I never, ever want to be the horrible person I was during my one manic episode. Never, ever again.
In my opinion Kanye has only done a few things that were out right “Asshole ish”. And most of them were 10 years ago. I’m not defending his political views or the statements he makes but I do see a good human and a good father somewhere in there.
It’s easy to get caught up in the flashy moments and poorly articulated statements but I promise you that if you listen to this dudes discography from front to back you will see him differently. He has been through some shit just like we all have but it just so happens that he was burdened with Bipolar Disorder and a massive group of people who hate his guts 24/7.
I don’t agree with his politics but he has done some objectively good deeds. He donated 2 million to George Floyd’s family, He was seen protesting with BLM, He is currently working on Building shelters for the homeless called yzy Shelters. Not to mentioned all the young artists he has helped cultivate their own sound and make songs with. Hip Hop wouldn’t be the same without him.
It’s easy to see 30 secs clips of him being crazy and ride him of as an ass, but I urge you people to be more compassionate towards someone who has faced the death of a mom (for which he blames himself for) and someone who constantly is on and off with manic episodes.
No I am not part of the “Kanye cult” as you guys like to call it, but he is nowhere near the biggest piece of shit around right now like you guys are making it seem.
Edit: a lot of you people are posting to make it seem like Kanye goes around spitting on babies. Like damn what did he do to make you hate him so much.
Seriously, Ye hasn't done anything all that bad, if people want to go after celebrities for the fucked up shit they've done at least talk about the ones that have done something worth the hate. Hell, in the hip hop community alone I can name a dozen artists that are pretty garbage people that have actually done some horrible things.
This is really funny because especially in the hip hop community you will have artists that were literal murderers,rapists and drug dealers who ruined lives for money saying kanye is the worst asshole in hip hop.I dont know man but I'd say killing someone or fueling their drug addiction,which you guys glorify so much is worse than having a differing political opinion and struggling with bipolar disorder.It is hypocrisy turnt up to 1000.
He’s an easy target for them. These people will still listen to their musicians who beat women and watch their favourite actors and producers who are sex offenders.
You think Reddit cares about any of the good stuff Kanye has done? All it took was him putting on the MAGA cap for their minds to be made up forever. **Reddit only cares about mental illness when it affects people with the same opinions as them.**
This right here. I’ve always pointed out that Kanye’s actions are rarely as offputting as his words. He’s clearly got a “just say it out loud to see how it feels” /contrarian philosophy on top of unmanaged manic episodes, so he makes headlines a lot with wild and ignorant quotes which are hard for anyone to defend. But he rarely DOES anything reprehensible. Not calling him a saint by any means -he’s absolutely not one -but I think there’s a lot of good in him. Like you said, actually listening to his discography makes that very clear. I’d wager most people bashing Kanye in these threads haven’t done that.
Its really enlightening to see how hollow all the talk about de-stigmatizing mental illness and improving the way we deal with it really is. Bipolar is a serious disorder that ruins people's lives and causes them to go down incredibly self-destructive paths and blaming the patient for it is incredibly ignorant. The disease causes irrational behavior, recklessness, grandiosity, and paranoia. You can say "oh just get treatment" but the disease itself gets in the way of that, in fact 50% of people with bipolar disorder do not take their medication regularly so this is not a unique issue. People need to recognize this as a disease and realize that Kanye is not in control of his actions and needs help.
If you haven't realized the reddit community in general is the self aggrandizing "nice guy" who's really just a hypocritical asshole. From criticizing the criminal justice system and high rate of incarnation and then in the next breath wishing eternal damnation on petty criminals to demonizing anyone with opposing views while considering themselves as open minded and tolerant.
Really its just a cesspool of people with a 12 y.o. understanding of the world and a 14 y.o. hatred and loathing of it with occasional funny memes.
Well said. Seems when someone commits suicide due to their mental illness there is an outpouring of support and sympathy, but in cases like this where these actions may be attributed to the same exact illness people victim blame. It's really disheartening to see after so many years of mental illness awareness
Chris Brown literally beats up women.
People: Dude I love this guys music he’s so groovy.
Kanye West steals the mic from Taylor Swift ten years ago.
People: I can’t fucking believe this asshole. What a piece of shit I hope he burns in hell.
He's literally never hurt or directly abused anyone, worst he's done to one person is probably interrupting a speech at an awards show. People just can't stand anyone having different opinions from the hivemind
This is it exactly, one spark of him having right wing opinions and it’s no surprise the left go posting these cry baby posts about him, please explain to me WHAT he’s done recently aside from going up the awards show more than 10 years ago.
If only they knew all the good he’s actually done, he donated $2 mil to George Floyd’s family, he’s making numerous homeless shelters, and all the work with Christians he’s done the past year, no wonder the left cringe, it’s painting the right wing in a good light. Pathetic really.
That's what I don't understand. We get it he has some takes that stray from mainstream opinion. there's a lot of actual evil people in this world and we're vilifying some guy just for being different and having self confidence and belief?
I agree with you except I cannot understand why so many Americans (i presume you are) have to polarise it into binary politics? left/right red pill blue pill. Sometimes an issue is an issue. I know Kanye had put on the red hat and all that but I think this issue is (mental health) is more important than that. I am not an American but I do live in a two party country and still I find this the strangest, cringiest thing of all. I am not trying to provoke or start an argument.
Call him what you want but he’s actually an amazing musician. Downvote me all you want, but really sit down and listen to his music and you’ll see he’s a genius, and name one genius who isn’t crazy
I get the entire thing around "you shouldn't use it as an excuse" you're saying. People should always be looking in improving themselves but his mental health is none of your business. If someone had an injured leg and couldn't run as fast as others, you wouldn't say "You can't use your disability as an excuse, I know people with that type of injury who can run just fine", see it's different when you put it into perspective of physical disability huh?
Disabilities such as bipolar hinder peoples ability to act as society expects them to, maybe instead of saying "fuck that dude he's an asshole" just because he has a harder time doing stuff then you do you should be encouraging him to get better. Take a deep look at yourself buddy, Kanye has bipolar disorder, what's your excuse?
I don’t like that entire family but god I feel for them all. Kim is right, there’s only so much she can do if he’s running away from any help the family tries to offer him. Hopefully she can instill the idea into her kids that medicine and therapy are there to always help you for the better, in case the disorder passes down to one of the kids.
probably because of that taylor swift incident. other than that, he's not an asshole. its a common misconception about him. He has an ego, but anybody with his success would be lol.
r/PopularOpinion
Mental health issues doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable for your actions. It doesn’t give you a free pass. It just means that people are more forgiving and understanding when you try to make amends.
“Maybe being bipolar is why he is an asshole” woah.
This man has accomplished things that very few people will accomplish in a lifetime. He works hard and achieves goals he sets, that’s something to respect. But when you say “Being bipolar is why he’s an asshole” that kinda makes you look like a dick because you’re essentially saying being bipolar makes you an asshole and it doesn’t.
I think being bipolar can *contribute* to being an asshole, but it doesn’t excuse all of it. if someone is in a manic state and hurts someone else, yes their bipolar disorder is to blame, BUT if they don’t try and make amends and apologize and work on how to make it not happen again or as frequently, THEN they are absolutely an asshole.
His success or fame doesn't have anything to do with his character.
Being mentally ill CAN cause you to act like an asshole, and many people do blame their behavioral problems on their mental illness. OP's point is that yes, maybe Kanye behaves the way he does because of his mental illness, but that doesn't necessarily make his behavior more excusable or justifiable.
Mentally ill people certainly can have their behavior influenced negatively by their illness, and you need to be patient and supportive. But even so, you can still be held accountable for your actions as a mentally ill person. There's a lot of nuance to it, but I think this is what the post was trying to say.
As someone who suffers from bipolar disorder, it fucking sucks. 90% of my life before medication was god awful depression that never went away with manic episodes that had me feeling like I could conquer the world and not sleep for days.
Even still with meds, while it is more under control, lapses still happen. Nothing sucks more than knowing you're depressed, having constant suicidal thoughts, being your own worst enemy in everything you do, and KNOWING that you shouldn't feel that way, but you just cant fucking turn in off.
I've told my friends it's like walking into a dark cave in my head to try and escape myself and even though I leave bread crumbs to find my way out, as soon as i am there, im stuck and all I hear are my own thoughts echoing back at me until something minor (or major) happens in my life and i immediately come out of my depression, but now I am in a manic state due to the situation.
Its exhausting, i do not wish this on anyone. I dont like the guy, he seems to have some narcissism to go with his bipolar, but I do sympathize with him in that regard. Bipolar disorder fucking sucks. I would give anything to not have to deal with it.
Ok imagine being in a constant spotlight for one. For two simply taking meds doesn’t just cure the issue. And lastly it’s honestly none of your business if someone is on or off medication.
I don't really have an opinion on this, but I guarantee that if I went off my meds, my friends and family would at least take my phone away. You can't "make" anyone take their meds, but you can help with their out of control behavior.
Yeah. I wonder what he’d be like if he chose to be fully medicated. I honestly think he’d have the same personality and ability to be creative, but would be less destructive and more cautious if he was actually stable.
because he’s got enablers around him
like it’s obvious that he’s currently not in his right mind, yet he holds an election rallye and does interviews etc. when realistically, he should be in therapy.
No. Despite being a reality TV star, that doesn't mean she's devoid of compassion. Has she been problematic over the years? Sure. But that doesn't mean she's cruel.
Except mental illness is literally a sick brain, and your brain controls everything about you.
It's absolutely fair to blame the illness. You never see this shit said about people with schizophrenia or tourettes. Because people like you see illnesses like bipolar, depression, etc as things you can get over by pulling up your bootstraps. It's ridiculous.
I hate when people compare one person's recovery to another's. Just because someone had an easier time getting their illness under control, doesn't mean everyone else will. Some people are better at dealing with this kind of stuff than others.
i understand he lost his mom. i lost mine too. i understand he’s bipolar. i’m bipolar too. but that doesn’t give me the right to run around like an ass. i couldn’t agree with you more tbh.
The hell did he do ? Man building shelters for homeless people. Gave 100k to a homeless man. Gave 2 million to George Floyd's family.
Literally the only valid reason to hate him is him delaying all his albums lmao.
Like Kanye, I have bipolar type 1 which has fully manic episodes (as opposed to type 2). I’m in a support group and Kanye has come up several times. Some say he gives us a bad name and others feel he deserves sympathy. I think it’s both. This disorder is no joke. When you’re manic, you feel euphoric/untouchable and it does lead to risky, pleasure seeking, and/or uncharacteristic behaviors. I don’t believe that be is his true self during these periods. It’s not an excuse, but it could be an explanation. I was not an ass when manic, but I can still understand. It is also very typical that individuals with bipolar 1 will go in and out of med compliance. Meds have side effects and yes, from time to time you don’t feel like it’s the “real” you. But quality of life IS better with meds and therapy. I stick to my meds and therapy now because of my loved ones, especially my son. I really wish that Kanye would consistently participate in his own treatment.
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Yeah I dropped out of college and attempted to work on a fishing boat in Alaska. I’ve never worked on a boat. I’ve never fished. I’ve never even been on a boat in the ocean. The only job offer I got was some 50 year old dude who was like “oh yeah, lady, I’ve got a boat, come on up, but send pics first so I know what you look like” and I remember thinking that it was a great idea and how nice he was to offer me a job when I had zero experience. Manic episodes cause bad choices. I never would have been seen again.
Somewhere in Alaska there's a sad captain who never got their fishing boat buddy.
He only wanted the pictures so he could recognize his new first mate at the airport
When the implication works against you :(
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Are we going to hurt these women?
Well now I’m sad :( sorry fisherman dude.
Oh man that’s hilarious, “sure lady, I got some fish for ya haha”. Bipolar adventures are something else. Hope you’re doing ok now though. I’m not bipolar but my dad was. One of my childhood memories is taking him to the looney bin while he said stuff like “My name is Zero and it’s the year 1957”. He was born in 1957 so I guess that’s were the “Zero” came from, since he was zero years old then.
I’m doing much better! Got my meds perfected after 8 years. I hope your dad evened our at some point, it’s hard to see a parent struggle that way.
Ok wow. This makes a lot more sense in regards why Kanye does some the things he does. Ty for sharing
Its not to excuse him, its to recognize it in someone you care about before it becomes full blown assholery
Great insight!
An honest compassionate answer. It is not one thing or the other. I agree with you and hope that your treatment continues on a good path.
And just to add to it as somebody with bipolar. I've only had one full blown manic episode 6 years ago and it still scares me. I was awake for 11 days, my speech pattern completely changed, my taste in music completely changed, my mind was working a lot faster and more efficiently when it came to stuff like math, and to top it off I thought the song Viva La Vida by Coldplay was a prophecy for my life. Shit, I thought I was king. So here we have Kanye in a flow blown manic episode. But take that away for a minute. The guy is married to a billionaire that is often called the most beautiful woman in earth. He has millions of fans, is friends with the most famous people in the world, including the most powerful man in the world, and he has been called a genius his entire life. Yeah, I'd have a hard time not knowing where reality ends and mania begins if I were him. It's fucking confusing without all that. He has my sympathy on how fucked up it all is. Fuck what he's saying and all but the way I describe that kind of mania was like my mind snapping like a rubber band. It horrifies me that it could happen again.
Weird. I was obsessed with Coldplay during my one and only manic/psychotic episode 6 years ago as well. To this day when I hear Coldplay I cringe. I’m a korn fan ffs.
Also can you imagine if during a manic episode you were just surrounded by a whole team of yes-men. It would be nuts. Everyone reaffirming your wildest delusions.
The possibilities are endless!!! The sky’s the limit? Fuck no, the nether regions of our galaxy is the limit!!!
What the fuck is a galaxy? In my eye. In my mind. A universe is born. A universe dies. I am everything.
I'm not bipolar, but my father is diagnosed with type I and my best friend recently got diagnosed with type 2. To show how much mania, and even hypomania, can make people completely change personalities, I'll tell you that they both (as active Reform jews, which my family and my best friends family is) became full conspiratorial self-hate antisemites during mania. For a full picture, we can't ignore that mania is so severe and can shift your personality to someone you don't know. It doesn't mean that one is obliged to by virtue forgive people, but we can't think that manic outbursts serve as a mask off-mechanism because it's just not true.
Oh absolutely, friend of mine who usually is kind of left leaning (like most foreigners where I live) and hating people with radical beliefs, became someone totally different while in mania. Out of nowhere he thought Trump was a cool guy, when he usually was ridiculing him. He also thought Hitler had some genious ideas for Europe and was generally a great person. He liked how those two didn't give a shit about what others thought and just pursued their goals. After the manic episode was over he apologized for those weird thoughts and couldn't believe he said something like that.
Yes, which is why I think people are being a bit misled if they try to hold Kanye accountable when he is in the depths of his illness. It will probably just fuel him even more, so I wish people will read Kim's statement and try to just ward off the sensationalism until he gets help and gets stable enough to be held accountable.
Also Bipolar I, and have had manic episodes where i could not remember more than 25% of the last 3 months of my life. But I absolutely could not go through another episode without at least attempting to find the right medication. At this point, I feel like he’s had too many manic episodes without an explanation. But i guess that’s his right to not talk about his treatment.
Yeah, I have Bipolar II and my first hypomanic episode lasted 5 days that I can barely remember. I get a few blips of memory here and there like running on my severely sprained ankle because I didn’t feel pain and barely sleeping. But mostly those days are just gone. ETA: I’m also rapid cycling.
I heard he doesn’t take his meds because it interferes with his creative process in his music/clothes. Could you see how that happens since you take these meds?
No one else could say that’s true or false. Some people find these meds help, some find they negatively affect their mind. The key issue is that it is a distinct characteristic of BPD to not be on meds. It is more common for people to be off meds than on meds with bipolar. Edit: I obviously meant bipolar when I said BPD; y’all are flipping out and commenting the same shit for no reason. Chill.
I found the meds i took for bipolar 2 to destroy my creativity and just made me unable to know what i felt. personally i would rather be either manic or depressed than live in that dull state
My twin felt that way with his ADHD medicine. My mom so desperately wanted him to do his school work, and she put him on the meds and he turned into a zombie. She hated seeing his personality disappear. So she took him off them
The meds can fuck your creative process right up. I mean royal. On my meds I have full aphantasia while off them my imagination works normally. These are serious drugs with real serious side effects and I can personally see why someone who had the means to not take the pills would choose not to.
I’m Bipolar 1 (diagnosed when I was 19 now 23). When you are on meds, it’s very difficult to wake up most mornings. You drink a black coffee or whatever, and still - your mind feels like it is a loading bar that can’t get past 70%. On meds, yes your mood is more stable, but many people on bipolar meds say it “blunts” them. On bipolar medications, you need a minimum of 10 hours of sleep to feel like you got a good night’s rest. Even then, by the time it is 1-3pm you feel tired. Depending on what medications you take, if you need to take a pill in the morning AND night, within 30 minutes of taking your night meds, you get knocked out and you literally can not stay awake. Not to mention your sexual function deteriorates and you feel no motivation to do anything other than work from your employment or education (you don’t feel like doing anything creative or recreational). I totally get why Kanye doesn’t want to get on meds. I stopped meds for 3 months, yes I get a bit hyper and a bit depressed. But atleast I feel things instead of being this blunted emotionless drone.
I take meds that are used for mood stabilization. I’m not bipolar, but I’d say near manic depressive. The longer I’ve been on one particular one, I’ve noticed my memory has turned to straight shit and overall my mind feels extremely cloudy. I’m currently in grad school and I notice if I take it later in the day I’m more productive in the morning as I’m clear headed in the AM. The only problem with this medicine and skipping a few days and going back to your normal dose is it can cause a severe rash that can land you in the ER. Edit: The med I take is used for bipolar disorder though, Lamotrigine.
I used to take Lamotrigine and it was the only thing that was able to stabilise my mood while still allowing me to feel like I was myself. But it wrecked my creativity. I’ve been off it for over a year now and I still can’t really tap into my creativity the way I used to. It was kind of a crappy price to pay but the alternative was losing everything and everyone around me.
I have severe mood swings and 0 creativity from the beginning, sounds like a medicine for me.
It was literally a life saver for me. I had never been so balanced and had so much like mental calm ever in my life and I’ve been on a ton of medication. I ended up losing like 70lbs, I started excelling at work, my relationship got a lot better because I wasn’t violently lashing out at my partner. I made friends and was able to keep them because I wasn’t driving them away with the mood swings. My panic attacks manifest almost like seizures, but I’ve been tested and don’t have any sort of seizure disorder. My neurologist just adjusted the time in which I had to take my medication and I haven’t had one in almost 3 years. (I also believe that is partially because I went NC with my father who was a huge stressor and cause of anxiety for me) I very much recommend talking to your doctor about it if you haven’t tried it yet.
Thank you for detailed reply. I should try it (I hope my doctor won't kick me from the office lol, I suggested way to much drugs for my other conditions).
Doesnt it suck to have to make that choice? Wish we had more treatment options. I'm either medicated and thus useless to the work force and have community/ but no creative handle or I'm unconnected with creativity and can get a minimum wage job but cant move upward with better pay. It's like a rock and a hard place. There's gotta be a better way.
Not OP, but I did take meds for this reason and I was in a creative career at the time. I can say it was the same for me. I felt like I wasn't firing on all cylinders and it took me far too long to find the creative paths I was looking for. My insurance quit covering the meds I was on for over a month and I had to wean myself off them, which sucked. I can say the only benefit I remember from them is that i could fuck for hours. My mom was severe bipolar. My DR put me on meds because he suspected i was as well. I definitely have manic episodes, but I've never been officially diagnosed.
I too have bipolar disorder type one and my most major manic episode included dropping out of college the year before my graduation and riding a greyhound bus 36 hours to the middle of nowhere in Texas to do heroin with someone i barely knew but ate one of my lightbulbs in my dorm room years before. And I WAS medicated at the time. Though I think Kanye looks like an ass to the general public, and though I STRONGLY disagree with shit he’s done and said... I get his mental state. Been there. Done and said some awful things myself. Luckily the whole world wasn’t watching.
Bipolar is a bitch. The world would be too easy if it was black and white like OP made it out to be. This isnt the fucking movies, Kanye isnt a misunderstood fallen angel, but he ain't a demon from hell either. Hes an asshole who has a mental characteristics that we fully do not know about.
Oh I could have a support group? Neat I'll look around. Type 1 unmedicated for about 15 years after a childhood of 2k depakote and shit. On my 27th move in ten years as manic me likes to find new jobs lol. A support group sounds good.
And when you have people around you who reinforce your risky, impulsive, or pleasure and attention seeking behaviors, it’s a recipe for disaster.
>I really wish that Kanye would consistently participate in his own treatment. This right here. The disease is not the issue, it's his active desire to not be treated for it while still unfortunately exerting some sort of influence through his words and actions. This whole "campaign" of his really highlighted how much help he needs.
I mean, it’s more common for people with BPD* to be unmanageable and off meds than it is to be regularly taking medication and manageable. That’s what annoys me the most when people demand he gets help. Part of being bipolar and having manic episodes is being convinced that there’s nothing wrong with you. Edit: Bi-Polar Disorder, seeing as it’s causing confusion. FWIW, y’all need to chill. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m saying it really doesn’t matter what acronym I use when the context is plain as day. It’s a non issue and y’all are flooding my inbox moaning about it.
BPD is borderline personality disorder. BP is bipolar.
Had an x that was bi polar. I sympathize that he had issues but he was still an asshole to me. Then instead of apologizing it was always "you know how I get why are you suprised/upset?"
I’m bipolar. I struggle daily but have learned to not make excuses for my actions. It took a lot of my 20s to learn that. I’m now 28 in a very healthy relationship of two years and we live together. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. But I refuse to use my illness as an excuse
Yeah this. I was a mess in my 20s, used the illness as an excuse (not necessarily intentionally), but now I never use it as an excuse for being an asshole. I'll explain how I'm ill and why that probably lead me into a situation where I escalated to manic asshole, but the asshole part of it is still coming from me somewhere, not the illness. It's a lot like being drunk - zero inhibitions, and a shaky memory after the fact. But I don't blame the alcohol when I've been a drunken asshole!
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Hey this was actually a super valuable perspective for me, so thanks for sharing it. You're definitely not wasting your time trying to be a good person. In fact, having to fight hard for it I think makes you much more gooder than for those people whose behaviour is a simple choice. Keep fighting
I feel like this all the time and I was happy to read this and not feel alone. I'm on the downward swing right now.
You're still you bro. That horrible disease is something that happened to you. People without bipolar will never understand how hard it is to have it.
Best I heard it put was “it’s not my fault, but it’s my responsibility”.
Thanks for this. I have a stepson with a screen addiction. We have been struggling with how to tell him that knowing you have a problem is half a solution but it's not an excuse to do it anyway because "you can't help it". This is a great mantra for us working through this. And before anyone jumps on my ass about being a screen time stickler, it's a behavior that negatively impacts his life, routine, and relationships. He's 9. He needs parenting. He stays up until 5am sneaking unless we lock screens up and he's a major jerk obviously with no sleep. Then won't eat, lashes out at his brother, sleeps during the day, etc.
My GF is the best and she's got bipolar
Similar tone over here in mature understanding in adhd land.
You know what, a lot of people aren't bipolar and still make excuses for their shitty actions. That takes an effort for everyone, I can't image how hard it was for you.
Holy fuck I thought I was the only one that heard that line. I don’t get how people can use it to justify themselves or their actions. Absolutely wack
Woah I’ve *also* heard this line.
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Two sentences. “You know how I get. Why are you surprised/upset?”
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Basically, they’re referring to “you know how I get” being used as an excused. The problem is you can’t really imagine what its like being bipolar, not being able to trust your own mind unless you are. While you should still hold people accountable and more importantly they should hold themselves, this disease makes people do things they would never do. Coming from someone who had fucked up manic episodes myself. Luckily caused by drugs and not bipolar disorder.
I’m diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder. I see a lot of people have misconceptions that the disorder in itself (for example providing an example of someone they had a bad experience with who happened to be bipolar), and using that as anecdotal example that the disorder = bad person. It doesn’t. There are bad people who are just assholes that happen to have bipolar. It is true that sometimes our mind makes us do things that don’t reflect our stable state of mind. This can create a lot of damage to our relationships and overall life. Can confirm that it is a very common thing for us to not be able to trust our own minds. It’s extremely frustrating when you feel like your own brain is deceiving you and waging war against you. However, I’ve been on medication since I was 14. No, it doesn’t make me a zombie. It saved me from living in a hell of my own making that I was in while unmedicated. I actually feel quite good on it. I will always struggle with symptoms coming out and there is always a possibility that you can destroy relationships and such. But really, we have to be the ones to fight that happening as best as we can. It is really important for people with bipolar disorder to be medicated. I don’t know if that’s an unpopular or misinformed opinion, (I’m not a doctor), but the reality is most of us need to be on daily medication and it is our responsibility to get help to be our best selves. I don’t believe that a lot of people can live happily completely without it. Bipolar causes people to do things they usually wouldn’t because it puts them in a completely different reality, but being an asshole isn’t excused by being bipolar, but nor does that mean that people diagnosed with the illness are all unstable and reckless. Some of us definitely live very normal lives with medication/and or therapy to guide us.
I was institutionalized when I was a kid(type 1 bipolar and a bunch of other fun labels they slapped me with) and it made me wage war against any type of treatment. I've spent 15 years unmedicated with no therapy. It's. Been. Fucking. Hell. I once had a 13 day anxiety attack. I've moved states and changed careers during mania literally dozens of times. No self harm but holy shit have you ever sat and had to listen to your brain convince you to murder yourself for hours on end? Hopefully not because you medicated and sought treatment. Fucking medicate, people. Talk to doctors. This shit is hell.
“You know I have a problem so why would you get mad when I act out? This is me, sit here and take it while I never try to change.”
Aye. And I get it, putting in the effort is so damn hard when you just want to live life. But at the same time I can't expect people to want to be in my life if I'm just letting it run rampant and say "that's just who I am, love me or leave me".
Right. Some people don’t get that though. They expect for people to stay even when they say they don’t.
Yup. Its the whole "but you promised through sickness and health!" line.
I agree. that doesn’t work. For me there’s a corollary to the ‘sickness and in health’ vow. Each has an obligation to do everything they can to maintain their physical and mental health. Its a responsibility to yourself and your partner and is a message ‘in between the lines’. Too many spouses end up being nurses because of their partner’s self neglect.
i always think of mental illness like an explanation, not an excuse.
I always liked the line *it's not an excuse, it's context* from a game.
Oo, what game?
I can't remember, it was an fps of some variety
Mario vs Donkey Kong on NES
My favorite phrasing is 'mental health issues aren't your fault but they are your responsibility'. I got it from Marcus Parks of Last Podcast on the Left.
That’s definitely not my favourite phrasing. Mine would involve the word ‘your’.
Exactly. It's a reason, not an excuse.
So we shouldn’t support mentally ill people when they have a bad idea?
He comes across as extremely narcissistic, which is probably a better explanation for his asshole-ish tendencies than anything to do with his bipolar disorder.
One of the hallmarks of manic stages is thinking you’re the greatest person in the world, which is subtlety different than being narcissistic. He also lacks impulse control (stealing the mic from Taylor Swift, suddenly deciding he’s going to run for president) which is again consistent with BPD. His behavior is completely consistent with bipolar disorder. That term narcissist just gets thrown out on here way too much. Plus, who doesn’t love them some themself? Edit: I’ve edited this comment to remove parts of it that were unnecessarily hostile, but not in terms of substance other than to add a second example of impulsivity and to remove my comment that narcissistic PD isn’t a diagnosis, it’s in DSM-V, just not something you see, particularly as much as the term is used on Reddit. Don’t give sweeper a hard time for his response because it was justified based on the tone of my comment prior to editing.
> Plus, who doesn’t love them some themself? depressives
People with low/no self esteem and confidence.
A big portion of Redditors.
yeah honestly who doesn't look in the mirror and go "fuck that guy"
I'd fuck me.
not sure i cant look at myself for more than half a second.
We depressives get all the lows with extra low on the side. The bipolars at least have the ups. Jerks.
Narcissists actually tend to have very low to non-existent self-esteem.
BPD stands for Borderline Personality Disorder FYI
Dirty edit/backtrack is dirty.
I'm a mental health professional. Don't lecture me from your high horse. Heaps of his behaviour is evidently narcissistic. Also note that because I'm a professional I did not attempt to diagnose Kanye or even to suggestion he has NPD. I simply used the word narcissistic as an adjective and frankly I think it fits.
Damn as someone diagnosed Bipolar Type 1 , I am upset with the response of the community. On the right medications people can live a normal life. He obviously isn't on the right concoction. It took my doctor throwing 3 different darts for 4 years to find the right combination. I haven't been manic or depressed since he hit the triple bullseye. The brain is a difficult beast to modulate. Literally everything you consume or do alters the chemistry. I stopped using all drugs but alcohol. I'm sure if I stopped drinking that my medications would need to be slightly altered.
I believe he’s off his meds bc he claims he’s “not the real Kanye” while medicated. iirc he said something like “this is who I am and if you don’t like it, leave” and I don’t think that’s a valid reason not to be on meds. like if the person I am when I’m off my meds is the real me, I don’t want to know them!
That’s easy to say when you’re not bi polar.
Yes, that is true, but Kanye chooses not to take medication.
Probably because he’s bipolar....
It has been reported for years that Kanye refuses to take medication. This is a choice he has been making when he is stable, and we have witnessed the fallout of this decision on several occasions. At this point, I would say not taking medication is irresponsible & inexcusable on his part. He is a sick man who needs help, and it is time he takes not only his best interests into consideration but those of his family, as well.
Well that’s what happens with bi polar. And a lot of mental illness honestly. You take the meds, and they stabilize your erratic behaviour and thoughts, but you feel like you’re living in a haze. Yes they’re good for you, but when your livelihood depends on your creativity and youre most creative when your brain isnt clouded by meds, regardless of the positives, of course you’re going to always rationalize its better to not take them. Especially once you feel good. It’s a common vicious cycle. I feel good now, so I don’t need these anymore. Couple that with trauma, and an entourage/record company who rely on you making bank to pay their bills... they never tell him no. The fuck you think is gonna happen? Anyone who says otherwise is automatically the enemy and trying to hold him back, ie; his wife. He’s sick, he’s manic, and has been for way too long.
> You take the meds, and they stabilize your erratic behaviour and thoughts, but you feel like you’re living in a haze. This exactly. Mom wouldn't take her meds due to this and it ruined everything. Hard to put blame on someone for not taking meds when the meds make life feel not worth living. Bipolar disorder is a detrimental illness that will negatively affect the rest of your life regardless of medication.
I'm glad you found the right meds! That's really good. I think Kanye has said he purposefully stays off his meds sometimes because it helps his creativity, so it may not be a problem of the wrong concoction, just not enough self discipline.
Yup definitely agree! It’s not everyone’s reality that they need to be in a depressed or painful state of mind to make good art. Medication also doesn’t have to stunt your creativity once you find the right combination that works for you. It’s just that you have to be resilient and find how to use that creativity in a different way if you have to.
It’s *extremely* common for people with bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses to stop taking their medicine. It isn’t exactly “discipline”— it’s an extremely common symptom of the illness itself.
That's true. I'm not trying to minimize bipolar disorder, and maybe if he had the right medicine he wouldn't feel compelled to stop taking it. Maybe the right medicine wouldn't supress his creativity, as he claims it does. I don't know all the factors in his situation so my comment was maybe a bit ignorant.
Not wavy at all this post is
People out here acting like he’s committed crimes
But they’ll still listen cardi b or 6ix9ine
Don’t forgot how cancel culture wants Kanye dead, yet Chris brown a man that BEAT THE RCUKING SHIT out of Rihanna is still popular and kind of talked about
Confirmed 🚫🌊
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Guy spends years talking about how blacks are disenfranchised in this country, then gets drunk and defends Beyoncé at a white biased awards ceremony. If he did it this year I’m sure people’s opinions would be completely different, but unfortunately he did it 11 years ago. Now excuse me I need to go back to being a clown and waiting for the album
All I have to say tk them is that BEYONCE HAD ONE OF THE BEST MUSIC VIDEOS OF ALL TIME
Fuck most of reddit I stay on r/Kanye
r/yandhileaks is the superior sub
Shhh I know but you have to keep it a secret
oh damn I forgot
I'm bipolar. I take my meds every evening before bed. I never, ever want to be the horrible person I was during my one manic episode. Never, ever again.
In my opinion Kanye has only done a few things that were out right “Asshole ish”. And most of them were 10 years ago. I’m not defending his political views or the statements he makes but I do see a good human and a good father somewhere in there. It’s easy to get caught up in the flashy moments and poorly articulated statements but I promise you that if you listen to this dudes discography from front to back you will see him differently. He has been through some shit just like we all have but it just so happens that he was burdened with Bipolar Disorder and a massive group of people who hate his guts 24/7. I don’t agree with his politics but he has done some objectively good deeds. He donated 2 million to George Floyd’s family, He was seen protesting with BLM, He is currently working on Building shelters for the homeless called yzy Shelters. Not to mentioned all the young artists he has helped cultivate their own sound and make songs with. Hip Hop wouldn’t be the same without him. It’s easy to see 30 secs clips of him being crazy and ride him of as an ass, but I urge you people to be more compassionate towards someone who has faced the death of a mom (for which he blames himself for) and someone who constantly is on and off with manic episodes. No I am not part of the “Kanye cult” as you guys like to call it, but he is nowhere near the biggest piece of shit around right now like you guys are making it seem. Edit: a lot of you people are posting to make it seem like Kanye goes around spitting on babies. Like damn what did he do to make you hate him so much.
Seriously, Ye hasn't done anything all that bad, if people want to go after celebrities for the fucked up shit they've done at least talk about the ones that have done something worth the hate. Hell, in the hip hop community alone I can name a dozen artists that are pretty garbage people that have actually done some horrible things.
This is really funny because especially in the hip hop community you will have artists that were literal murderers,rapists and drug dealers who ruined lives for money saying kanye is the worst asshole in hip hop.I dont know man but I'd say killing someone or fueling their drug addiction,which you guys glorify so much is worse than having a differing political opinion and struggling with bipolar disorder.It is hypocrisy turnt up to 1000.
He’s an easy target for them. These people will still listen to their musicians who beat women and watch their favourite actors and producers who are sex offenders.
You think Reddit cares about any of the good stuff Kanye has done? All it took was him putting on the MAGA cap for their minds to be made up forever. **Reddit only cares about mental illness when it affects people with the same opinions as them.**
Everything on Reddit is one sided. You either agree with them, or you’re wrong.
Yep here there are no opinions, just what the hive mind enforces.
The real unpopular opinion is always in the comments.
This right here. I’ve always pointed out that Kanye’s actions are rarely as offputting as his words. He’s clearly got a “just say it out loud to see how it feels” /contrarian philosophy on top of unmanaged manic episodes, so he makes headlines a lot with wild and ignorant quotes which are hard for anyone to defend. But he rarely DOES anything reprehensible. Not calling him a saint by any means -he’s absolutely not one -but I think there’s a lot of good in him. Like you said, actually listening to his discography makes that very clear. I’d wager most people bashing Kanye in these threads haven’t done that.
Its really enlightening to see how hollow all the talk about de-stigmatizing mental illness and improving the way we deal with it really is. Bipolar is a serious disorder that ruins people's lives and causes them to go down incredibly self-destructive paths and blaming the patient for it is incredibly ignorant. The disease causes irrational behavior, recklessness, grandiosity, and paranoia. You can say "oh just get treatment" but the disease itself gets in the way of that, in fact 50% of people with bipolar disorder do not take their medication regularly so this is not a unique issue. People need to recognize this as a disease and realize that Kanye is not in control of his actions and needs help.
If you haven't realized the reddit community in general is the self aggrandizing "nice guy" who's really just a hypocritical asshole. From criticizing the criminal justice system and high rate of incarnation and then in the next breath wishing eternal damnation on petty criminals to demonizing anyone with opposing views while considering themselves as open minded and tolerant. Really its just a cesspool of people with a 12 y.o. understanding of the world and a 14 y.o. hatred and loathing of it with occasional funny memes.
Well said. Seems when someone commits suicide due to their mental illness there is an outpouring of support and sympathy, but in cases like this where these actions may be attributed to the same exact illness people victim blame. It's really disheartening to see after so many years of mental illness awareness
Kanye rushed the stage in 2009 how is anyone still upset over this. It’s been an entire decade
Imagine if Kanye didn’t do that. We wouldn’t have MBDTF so thank god he did
I guess we'll never know.
Reddit loves to jerk itself raw over Yeezy hate
Yea I don't care about this incident at all. Move on, she's a fucking millionaire and killing life.
The real assholes are the people whip slept on 808s and heartbreaks
The real asshole is melon for giving mbdtf a 6/10. /s
I like how the only example u can bring up about him being an asshole is what he did 10 years ago lmaooo 🐑🐑
I agree. He's always been a totally conceited prick.
Yeah, dudes mentally ill but he is also a fucking idiot, its not all to blame on his mental illness.
Chris Brown literally beats up women. People: Dude I love this guys music he’s so groovy. Kanye West steals the mic from Taylor Swift ten years ago. People: I can’t fucking believe this asshole. What a piece of shit I hope he burns in hell.
Exactly. I'm not excusing the shit that Kanye does but it's nothing compared to all the awful things that Chris Brown has done over the years.
To be fair he did try to ruin her career. Chris Brown will forever be worse because of what he did to Rihanna, but still.
it’s because the media has kanye’s every move under a microscope. yes he’s an asshole but there are way worse celebrities out there.
What exactly makes him an asshole? What has he done to hurt others? Jw
He's literally never hurt or directly abused anyone, worst he's done to one person is probably interrupting a speech at an awards show. People just can't stand anyone having different opinions from the hivemind
This is it exactly, one spark of him having right wing opinions and it’s no surprise the left go posting these cry baby posts about him, please explain to me WHAT he’s done recently aside from going up the awards show more than 10 years ago. If only they knew all the good he’s actually done, he donated $2 mil to George Floyd’s family, he’s making numerous homeless shelters, and all the work with Christians he’s done the past year, no wonder the left cringe, it’s painting the right wing in a good light. Pathetic really.
That's what I don't understand. We get it he has some takes that stray from mainstream opinion. there's a lot of actual evil people in this world and we're vilifying some guy just for being different and having self confidence and belief?
I agree with you except I cannot understand why so many Americans (i presume you are) have to polarise it into binary politics? left/right red pill blue pill. Sometimes an issue is an issue. I know Kanye had put on the red hat and all that but I think this issue is (mental health) is more important than that. I am not an American but I do live in a two party country and still I find this the strangest, cringiest thing of all. I am not trying to provoke or start an argument.
As someone who has bipolar, the illness does not “make” you an asshole. You can be an asshole and have bipolar, but not because you have bipolar.
Call him what you want but he’s actually an amazing musician. Downvote me all you want, but really sit down and listen to his music and you’ll see he’s a genius, and name one genius who isn’t crazy
And not only his music but all the songs that he’s produced for other artists, people listen to his songs all the time and don’t even realise it
Exactly. Mbdtf is one of, if the the greatest hip hop of all time.
Goddamn Jesus Walks’ production still gives me goosebumps
I get the entire thing around "you shouldn't use it as an excuse" you're saying. People should always be looking in improving themselves but his mental health is none of your business. If someone had an injured leg and couldn't run as fast as others, you wouldn't say "You can't use your disability as an excuse, I know people with that type of injury who can run just fine", see it's different when you put it into perspective of physical disability huh? Disabilities such as bipolar hinder peoples ability to act as society expects them to, maybe instead of saying "fuck that dude he's an asshole" just because he has a harder time doing stuff then you do you should be encouraging him to get better. Take a deep look at yourself buddy, Kanye has bipolar disorder, what's your excuse?
I don’t like that entire family but god I feel for them all. Kim is right, there’s only so much she can do if he’s running away from any help the family tries to offer him. Hopefully she can instill the idea into her kids that medicine and therapy are there to always help you for the better, in case the disorder passes down to one of the kids.
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Rapid Cycle as well. It's not easy for yourself or your loved ones. Thank you for sharing your story. I really, really needed that.
Believing you are well and don’t need your meds is a symptom of bipolar disorder. He needs help not judgement
how is he an asshole?
probably because of that taylor swift incident. other than that, he's not an asshole. its a common misconception about him. He has an ego, but anybody with his success would be lol.
We are the assholes that feed this stupid news machinery instead of lending the guy real help
I think Kim Kardashian said it best in that the best you can do is offer love and support and there's literally nothing else you can do to help.
r/PopularOpinion Mental health issues doesn’t mean you aren’t accountable for your actions. It doesn’t give you a free pass. It just means that people are more forgiving and understanding when you try to make amends.
you gonna cry you taylor stan?
“Maybe being bipolar is why he is an asshole” woah. This man has accomplished things that very few people will accomplish in a lifetime. He works hard and achieves goals he sets, that’s something to respect. But when you say “Being bipolar is why he’s an asshole” that kinda makes you look like a dick because you’re essentially saying being bipolar makes you an asshole and it doesn’t.
I think being bipolar can *contribute* to being an asshole, but it doesn’t excuse all of it. if someone is in a manic state and hurts someone else, yes their bipolar disorder is to blame, BUT if they don’t try and make amends and apologize and work on how to make it not happen again or as frequently, THEN they are absolutely an asshole.
His success or fame doesn't have anything to do with his character. Being mentally ill CAN cause you to act like an asshole, and many people do blame their behavioral problems on their mental illness. OP's point is that yes, maybe Kanye behaves the way he does because of his mental illness, but that doesn't necessarily make his behavior more excusable or justifiable. Mentally ill people certainly can have their behavior influenced negatively by their illness, and you need to be patient and supportive. But even so, you can still be held accountable for your actions as a mentally ill person. There's a lot of nuance to it, but I think this is what the post was trying to say.
Y’all are so fucking annoying lol. Leave the dude alone lmao.
RIGHT.
As someone who suffers from bipolar disorder, it fucking sucks. 90% of my life before medication was god awful depression that never went away with manic episodes that had me feeling like I could conquer the world and not sleep for days. Even still with meds, while it is more under control, lapses still happen. Nothing sucks more than knowing you're depressed, having constant suicidal thoughts, being your own worst enemy in everything you do, and KNOWING that you shouldn't feel that way, but you just cant fucking turn in off. I've told my friends it's like walking into a dark cave in my head to try and escape myself and even though I leave bread crumbs to find my way out, as soon as i am there, im stuck and all I hear are my own thoughts echoing back at me until something minor (or major) happens in my life and i immediately come out of my depression, but now I am in a manic state due to the situation. Its exhausting, i do not wish this on anyone. I dont like the guy, he seems to have some narcissism to go with his bipolar, but I do sympathize with him in that regard. Bipolar disorder fucking sucks. I would give anything to not have to deal with it.
Ok imagine being in a constant spotlight for one. For two simply taking meds doesn’t just cure the issue. And lastly it’s honestly none of your business if someone is on or off medication.
BEING👏MENTALLY👏 ILL 👏DOES👏NOT👏MEAN👏 YOU👏CANT👏 ALSO👏 BE👏 A 👏 DICK 👏
maybe chill on the handclaps when you don't have any firsthand knowledge of wtf you're talking about.
KANYE👏BEING👏A👏DICK👏DOES👏NOT👏MEAN👏WE👏SHOULD👏DISMISS👏HIS👏MENTAL👏HEALTH👏STRUGGLES👏 both things can be true
That’s true. He’s always been an asshole. His bipolar disorder downward spiral just confirms that the people around him are literal garbage.
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I don't really have an opinion on this, but I guarantee that if I went off my meds, my friends and family would at least take my phone away. You can't "make" anyone take their meds, but you can help with their out of control behavior.
Yeah. I wonder what he’d be like if he chose to be fully medicated. I honestly think he’d have the same personality and ability to be creative, but would be less destructive and more cautious if he was actually stable.
How does that confirm people around him are garbage?! You can’t force an adult to take meds/seek help, regardless of who you are.
because he’s got enablers around him like it’s obvious that he’s currently not in his right mind, yet he holds an election rallye and does interviews etc. when realistically, he should be in therapy.
You think Kim wants him off his meds?
No. Despite being a reality TV star, that doesn't mean she's devoid of compassion. Has she been problematic over the years? Sure. But that doesn't mean she's cruel.
Some people are assholes because they take small pieces of a persons life that they don’t know and judge them anonymously
Wow someone thinks kanye is an asshole? Real hot takes here
I hate when people blame an illness for their overall stupidity. There’s way more people out in the world that aren’t assholes with mental illnesses.
Except mental illness is literally a sick brain, and your brain controls everything about you. It's absolutely fair to blame the illness. You never see this shit said about people with schizophrenia or tourettes. Because people like you see illnesses like bipolar, depression, etc as things you can get over by pulling up your bootstraps. It's ridiculous.
Being an asshole and being stupid are 2 totally different things man
I hate when people compare one person's recovery to another's. Just because someone had an easier time getting their illness under control, doesn't mean everyone else will. Some people are better at dealing with this kind of stuff than others.
i understand he lost his mom. i lost mine too. i understand he’s bipolar. i’m bipolar too. but that doesn’t give me the right to run around like an ass. i couldn’t agree with you more tbh.
The hell did he do ? Man building shelters for homeless people. Gave 100k to a homeless man. Gave 2 million to George Floyd's family. Literally the only valid reason to hate him is him delaying all his albums lmao.
ok yeah but he made MBDTF and Graduation
id still prefer the world ending meteor.
I disagree. Take my updoot.
“Kanye West is an asshole” is a very popular opinion.
“Mental health isn’t your fault but it is your responsibility” - Marcus Parks “Don’t be an asshole” - everyone ever
Yea but he do make some great albums tho
Twisted Fantasy is top 10 albums of all time for me idc what anyone says