Kanye West has been causing outrage for weeks with controversial actions and anti-Semitic statements. A factor that is often forgotten: the rapper is bipolar. Here the psychiatrist Ulrich Seidl explains what it means to live with a bipolar disorder – and how those affected can be helped.
Mr Seidl, everyone is currently amazed at the public failures of musician Kanye West, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016. Can you explain the nature of this disease to us in simple terms?
I would like to try that. Pronounced fluctuations are fundamental to bipolar disorder. Not only the mood, but also the drive and the energy. There are also changes in thinking and behavior as well as disturbances in physical functions such as sleep or appetite. These fluctuations are far from what we normally know.