Rapper Kanye West is opening up about the mental issues that have been responsible for some rather bizarre actions from him in recent years.
Entertainment
In an episode of David Letterman’s Netflix series, “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction,” which will air this Friday, Kanye West shared with Letterman the difficulties he’s faced in managing his own mental health.
“You have this moment [where] you feel everyone wants to kill you. You pretty much don’t trust anyone,” West said in describing the feeling of having a manic episode with bipolar disorder. “When you’re in this state, you’re hyper-paranoid about everything, everyone,” he continued. “This is my experience, other people have different experiences. Everyone now is an actor. Everything’s a conspiracy. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you’re being recorded. You feel all these things.”
Kanye West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder only 2 years ago and openly discussed his diagnosis on his 2018 album, “Ye.” However, his mental health issues were present and prevalent long beforehand. His mother, Dr. Donda West, was very instrumental in helping him manage his health early on. However, when she died in 2007, he lost his fiercest protector. This eventually led to an involuntary psychiatric hold in 2016.
“They have this moment where they put you, they handcuff you, they drug you, they put you on the bed, and they separate you from everyone you know,” West said. “That’s something that I am so happy that I experienced myself so I can start by changing that moment.”
The rapper also shared with Letterman the importance of taking the prescribed medication to treat his condition.
“If you don’t take medication every day to keep you at a certain state, you have a potential to ramp up and it can take you to a point where you can even end up in the hospital. And you start acting erratic, as TMZ would put it,” he said in reference to his impromptu visit to the celebrity gossip website’s headquarters, where he made headlines by announcing slavery was a “choice.”
Kanye West and his “antics” have become the brunt of many jokes. However, the rapper says he has chosen to speak about his diagnosis in hopes of eradicating the “strong stigma” around mental health.
Congratulations to Kanye West for having the courage to address his own mental health and to give others the strength to address theirs as well.
OK WASSUP! covers Entertainment News:
Rapper Kanye West discusses his mental health issues.
Let me start by saying Thanks DJ for initiating a discussion on Mental Health. It is among the most serious of “taboo” subjects most of Black America would rather NOT even acknowledge, let alone talk about openly and candidly. Other serious “taboo” subjects include Sickle Cell Disease, HIV/AIDS, Cancer, etc. But back to Mental Health. Full disclosure: I’ve worked in the field MH for 26 yrs (as of this summer). I began as a college intern working at a County MH/MR agency, in the Forensic Unit, which meant assessing men and women who were incarcerated in County jails and State prisons AND presented with symptoms of various forms of mental illnesses, from Depression to Schizophrenia, Upon completion of my internship and my B.S. degree in Applied Behavioral Science, I was offered a full-time Administrative position in that same agency. Suffice it to say I ‘cut my teeth’ (gained a tremendous… Read more »