Bebe Rexha Shares Her Bipolar Diagnosis Because She’s “Not Ashamed Anymore”

Bebe Rexha is speaking out about her mental health. In a series of tweets, the pop artist known for partially writing Rihanna and Eminem’s “The Monster” and for her recent dance hit “Say My Name” opened up about her bipolar diagnosis.

“For the longest time, I didn’t understand why I felt so sick,” Rexha tweeted. “Why I felt lows that made me not want to leave my house or be around people and why I felt highs that wouldn’t let me sleep, wouldn’t let me stop working or creating music. Now I know why.”

She then shared that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “I’m bipolar and I’m not ashamed anymore,” she continued. “That is all. (Crying my eyes out.)”

Rexha opened up about her mental health not because she wanted sympathy but because she wanted to shine a light on the disorder she lives with. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me,” she said. “I just want you to accept me. That’s all. Love you.”

She also shared that her diagnosis is paving the way for her follow-up to 2018’s Expectations. “This next album will be favorite album ever because I’m not holding anything back,” she tweeted. “I love you all very much. And I hope you accept me as I am.”

Despite the fact that one in four people around the world will experience mental or neurological disorders in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organization, mental health isn’t something that’s discussed openly enough and without judgment. Rexha’s pop peer Lady Gaga recently discussed this when rallying for greater mental health resources in an op-ed. “Despite the universality of the issue, we struggle to talk about it openly or to offer adequate care or resources,” she wrote, alongside Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization. “Within families and communities, we often remain silenced by a shame that tells us that those with mental illness are somehow less worthy or at fault for their own suffering.…Both of us have seen how political leadership, funding, innovation and individual acts of bravery and compassion can change the world. It is time to do the same for mental health.”