Kanye West attributes his healing journey to the unwavering support of Bianca Censori. In a public display of vulnerability, he detailed his ongoing mental health struggles and bipolar disorder in an advertisement published in the Wall Street Journal on January 26th. In an email interview with Vanity Fair, published the following day, he shared a heartfelt insight into his wife's pivotal role in his recovery.
"Towards the end of my four-month-long manic episode, my medication was altered," Kanye said. "The antipsychotic drug led me into a profound depressive episode. My wife recognized this and together, we sought out a stabilizing course of action from a rehab facility in Switzerland." He added, "You must understand that bipolar disorder is a disease. It's one of the most devastating non-terminal illnesses."
The rapper, who shares four children with his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, also reflected on the impact his episode had on his personal relationships. "When you're manic, you truly don't believe you're sick," he explained. "You perceive everyone else as overreacting. You feel like you're seeing the world more clearly, but in reality, you're losing your grip entirely. That's what it felt like at that time."
Kanye further noted that a traumatic brain injury sustained in a 2003 car accident led to his diagnosis and subsequent erratic behavior, including making antisemitic comments—for which he apologized in his WSJ write-up. According to Kanye, it was his wife of three years who sounded the alarm on his issues.
"Hitting rock bottom a few months ago," Kanye wrote in the WSJ on January 26th. "My wife encouraged me to finally get help."
Kanye's mental health struggles took a toll on his first marriage, as Kim previously shared how his manic episodes left her feeling unsafe "emotionally or even financially," and contributed to her decision to divorce. "I didn't know what you're going to get when you wake up, and that's a really unsettling feeling," she explained on the October 15th episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, adding that the "lack of stability was a big thing."
Today, Kanye says that through the help of a treatment center and medication, he is on a positive new track and ready to share that with the world. "As I find my new baseline and center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise, and clean living," he shared in the WSJ ad. "I have newfound clarity that I desperately needed. I am pouring my energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design, and other new ideas to help the world."
