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Kayne West has been a target of laughter and memes on the internet for the past few years, primarily due to his erratic behavior. Many memes, articles, posts, and tweets have mocked the singer and his unraveling psyche up until his diagnosis of bipolar disorder a few years back.
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Experts now consider West’s erratic behavior as part and parcel of his underlying mental health disorder, which can bring on intense and extreme emotional states and risky behaviors. While Kayne mental illness remains a hot topic on the internet, it also signifies the need to know more about mental health illness and the stigma that surrounds it to tackle it better.
Kanye West Bipolar Disorder: A Timeline Of His Mental Health History
The world has been noticing Kanye’s erratic behavior long before his official mental health diagnosis. After years of wondering what is wrong with Kanye West, the world finally has a diagnosis that justifies all the singer’s previous mental health encounters. Following is a series of events that is now potentially viewed as a consequence of his bipolar disorder
VMAs Interruption in 2009
During the VMAs in 2009, West showed extremely erratic behavior by interrupting another famous singer, Taylor Swift. As the latter won an award for Best Video by a Female Artist, West interrupted by saying that Beyonce, another singer, deserved it more. Recalling this incident years later in 2020, the singer told Nick Cannon that God had hinted to him to storm the stage at that time, indicating ongoing mania, which is a part of bipolar disorder.
Tour Cancellation in 2016
In 2016, Kanye had to cancel some of his ongoing Saint Pablo Tour dates due to over-exhaustion. While the fans were left enraged, the singer had to be hospitalized later due to deteriorating health.
Album Release in 2018
Kanye West released an album in 2016 under the name “Ye” with a specific phrase that sparked controversy among the audience. The phrase said, “I hate being / Bi-Polar / it’s awesome.” The singer also referred to this mental health disorder as his superpower in this album.
Press Tour in 2019
A year following his album release, Kanye West suddenly became more vocal about his bipolar diagnosis. He said that the word “crazy” is becoming more common, and a lot of people struggling with bipolar disorder have received this label from others. Kanye also explained his own experience with the disease, telling David Letterman during an interview that everything feels like a conspiracy during an active episode. Quoting examples, he stated that he may feel like the government is implanting chips in people.
Presidential Campaign in 2020
The earliest signs of familial troubles became visible for West following his announcement on July 4 that he was running for president. The rapper gave an emotional and hysterical speech while wearing a bulletproof vest and 2020 shaved into his hair in July 2020. He even mentioned how he almost killed his daughter, reflecting on the time when he and Kim argued about an abortion. His speech also included extremely controversial assertions, such as slavery is a choice, and Harriet Tubman never freed the enslaved people. After recently signing a decade-long contract with the clothing line Gap, the rapper threatened to cancel the deal and sent their stock plunging. As the elections approached, Kanye spent a ton of his money to campaign, another telltale sign of bipolar disorder.
Family Troubles in 2020
In a couple of bizarre rants on Twitter in July 2020, West claimed that his family sent doctors to him for involuntary psychiatric hospitalization under “51/50,” a code that allows physicians to detain people to perform assessments and crisis intervention for up to 72 hours. He added that he has been trying to divorce Kim since she met Meek in 2018 in a criminal justice reform. West also mentioned the white supremacy that the Kardashian-Jenner clan practiced and called Kris Jenner “Kris Jong-Un.”
Due to constant blaming in his tweets, Kim had to step up and explain West’s behavior on her Instagram, asking their fans for understanding. She blamed her husband’s meltdown on his bipolar disorder and said that those close to Kanye know his heart and can understand that his statements do not align with his intentions. She also asked for empathy and compassion so the family can endure this challenging time.
Some fans speculate that Kanye’s meltdowns were brought on by the birthday of his late mother, Donda, who would have turned 71 on July 12. Donda died during plastic surgery in 2007. Kardashian mentioned Kanye’s painful loss of his mother in her statements as well. Others speculate that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could also affect the singer’s meltdown.
Twitter Meltdowns in 2020
In 2020, Kardashians announced that their iconic show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” will end after 20 seasons. Around the same time, West took center stage by tweeting pictures of his hands that he mentioned were injured before of too much texting. Reports also emerged of Kanye’s instructions to his campaign staff to avoid engaging in pre-marital sex. However, all these events took a backseat to the rapper’s public dispute with Universal and Sony.
West claimed that recording companies, such as Roc-A-Fella and Good Music Labels, locked him in unfair contracts according to which they owned the master recordings of all his songs. To back his claims, West posted pictures of the legal documents on Twitter, claiming that those were his contracts, and invited lawyers worldwide to look at them. In his frantic feed, he also demanded a discussion with Jay-Z, Drake, and Universal Music Group’s CEO. This online fiasco came to an end with the singer posting a video where he was urinating on his Grammy award after placing it in a toilet. He captioned the video saying, “Trust me, I won’t stop,” but was ironically banned by Twitter for tweeting Randall Lane’s phone number.
Divorce in 2021
Page Six first published the reports of the couple splitting. Following a marriage ceremony in 2014 and the birth of four children, the couple reportedly split up amicably when Kim filed for divorce in February 2021. By March, the couple was not speaking, but Kim later supported his ex-husband during his Donda listening events.
Despite the split, Kanye continued publicly expressing his love for Kim. However, Kardashian gave the world the impression that she had moved on when she started dating Pete Davidson in October 2021.
Social Media Rants in 2022
2022 brought a new relationship for West, who started dating Julia Fox. The couple engaged in various activities, such as a trip to Paris, shopping for designer clothes, and gifting Fox Birkin bags on her birthday. The pair stopped seeing each other shortly after when West went for an Instagram tirade on Super Bowl Sunday and uploaded a photoshopped photo where he, Fox, and others were fighting other celebs, including Taylor Swift, Kardashian, etc. West also made accusations that Kim Kardashian kidnapped their daughter and claimed that she did not invite him to her birthday party. Kanye also kept basing Pete Davidson, Kim’s then-boyfriend, to the extent that the actress had to message the rapper to stop.
Is Kanye West Bipolar Disorder Curable?
Unfortunately, bipolar disorder has no cure, but specific treatment options are available to keep the condition under control. Experts offer a combination of counseling/therapy with medication to manage symptoms and minimize active episodes. The choice of drugs may differ based on other co-occurring issues and factors. Some of these medications may include mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and antipsychotics.
While celebrities like Kanye West receive a lot of critique in the media for their outrageous behavior, experts advise taking a step back before conversing about them. Fighting a mental illness is not easy, and no one can know what battles a person with psychiatric illness is going through.
FAQs
Does Kanye West have bipolar disorder?
Kanye has been in the limelight for years due to his erratic behavior. However, these unpredictable episodes were later justified when the singer received a formal diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Since when does Kanye have bipolar disorder?
Kanye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, following which he has been highly vocal about this illness.
What support would Kanye West need for his bipolar disorder?
In addition to ongoing medication management and therapy, experts believe that Kanye needs a firm support system for his loved ones who can understand his mental health condition. Loved ones willing to educate themselves about his diagnosis can support him during challenging times.
