MARImage Source: Billboard

Mariah Carey’s career peaked mostly in the 1990’s. An instantly successful pop star, Carey even had her first five singles reach number one on the Billboard charts, making her the first and only artist to achieve that feat. A few years later she released the single “One Sweet Day” which became the longest-running number one single in history, having been at the number one position for a total of 16 weeks – that’s four months from December 1995 to March 1996.

However when the 2000’s rolled along, Mariah Carey’s career started to decline. In September of 2001, the musical drama “Glitter” starring the struggling singer as the lead star was released. The movie and its accompanying soundtrack was poorly received. In a few months, Carey suffered from a “physical and emotional breakdown” and was hospitalized for severe exhaustion. The singer cancelled all public appearances, including her headlining appearance at MTV's 20th anniversary show. Her record company denied tabloid reports that Carey tried to commit suicide, saying she did have cuts on her body, but the injuries were unintentional after breaking some dishes and glasses.

It was only recently that Mariah Carey opened up about what happened to her in the early 2000’s. Back in April of this year, Carey revealed to People magazine that she was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder during her hospitalization 18 years ago. She had kept the diagnosis private over the years, having sought out treatment in the form of medication and therapy. Carey also suffer from psychotic episodes from time to time, particularly one night in 2016 when she apparently had a psychotic break and believed that Prince, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston were coming to her home for a dinner party.

Mariah Carey has struggled with her mental illness for almost 20 years now, which had also affected some aspects of her music career. But the important thing is she has taken care of herself and as she said to People “I’m actually taking medication that seems to be pretty good. It’s not making me feel too tired or sluggish or anything like that. Finding the proper balance is what is most important.