Kanye West has been making headlines a lot in recent weeks from a bizarre bid to run for the Presidency to since-deleted tweets about potentially divorcing his famous wife Kim Kardashian West. It’s difficult to watch someone struggle mentally in such a public manner and Kim Kardashian has finally opened up about her husband’s struggles with bipolar disorder, asking for empathy from those who have watched him suffer in very public ways in recent days.
After Kanye West deleted a series of tweets regarding himself and his famous relationship, Kim Kardashian took to Instagram to open up about what has been going on both publicly and in her home life. She explained why she hasn’t really spoken publicly about Kanye West’s bipolar disorder before, saying:
As many of you know, Kanye has bi-polar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment about it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.
Despite Kanye West's public struggles, Kim Kardashian wants to make it clear that she understands her husband's genius and the efforts he has put into the world throughout the totality of his career and not just during times of intense difficulties. She wrote that his dreams are still valid and worth pursuing.
Living with bi-polar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some. That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true.
A few weeks ago, the entire Kardashian West clan had celebrated a very special Father's Day out west with their four children, and seemed in good spirits despite social distancing rules and more affecting people throughout the United States.
But in more recent weeks the rapper and entrepreneur has gone on rambling Twitter rants and declared that he wanted to run for the Presidency. He took to a stage in North Carolina wearing body armor to speak more about his platform and made some controversial comments about Harriet Tubman and his own wife, alleging she had wanted an abortion while pregnant with North West. All of these things have doubtless been painful for Kim Kardashian to witness play out and she is asking for empathy during this time.
We as a society talk about giving grace to the issue of mental health as a whole, however we should also give it to the individuals who are living with it in times when they need it the most. I kindly ask that the media and public give us the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this. Thank you for those who have expressed concern for Kanye's well-being and for your understanding.
Kanye West has always been a person who is open about his own feelings, but he wasn't diagnosed with bipolar disorder until 2016, two years after Kim and Kanye West married. Previously, Kim Kardashian told Vogue it was hard to understand her partner's diagnosis and things could get hectic at times, but this is the first time she's really opened up about the impact Kanye's struggles have had on their family personally. Our thoughts go out to the Kardashians and the Wests during this time.
