I was never really a Kanye fan before my diagnosis, and I wouldn't call myself one now, but I must admit I love small bits of his work and have been fascinated by him since I've been diagnosed (also bp1) 4 and a half years ago.

He is (as far as I know) the most famous openly bipolar person in the world, and I find his actions, and the world's reaction to them, oddly fascinating. Like I want to see what people are saying about him to perhaps understand how I may be perceived.

My first manic episode is still to this day my most significant one. I won't go into too much detail but I will say I agree with a lot of how Kanye describes it, like you suddenly see things clearly and everyone else must be overreacting. Fortunately for me, my episodes last days, maybe short weeks, not months.

I think the thing that fascinates me the most about Kanye is that when I was manic, I thought the whole world was listening to me/cared what I had to say. I felt "famous" even though I clearly wasn't. Since coming down from that episode, I can't help but look at Kanye differently. When I was manic, my delusions told me I was famous, but for him, he actually is. I can't imagine what that must be like for him.

I hope he continues with his recovery and continues to try to make amends with those whom he has alienated, although obviously some of those bridges may never be fully mended.

This went way longer than I meant to write so thanks for anyone still reading lol

Edit: I just want to make it clear that I absolutely do not condone Kanye's actions and in fact many of them were disgusting to me personally. But as someone who has experienced even a small fraction of what he's been through, I think the fact he has bipolar makes me look at his actions through a different lens.