Chappell Roan, Who Has Bipolar II, Says TikTok Follower Surge Triggered Hypomania: 'I Wasn’t Sleeping'

Mar. 15, 2025

Chappell Roan performs during the 2024 Boston Calling Music Festival.Photo:Astrida Valigorsky/Getty

Astrida Valigorsky/Getty

Chappell Roanis looking back on how her bipolar II disorder manifested during her skyrocketing success — particularly when she began gaining followers on TikTok in 2021 — in her October cover forRolling Stone.

Roan, who was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder in 2022, shared that the initial surge in followers triggered hypomania, which she would later learn is a symptom of bipolar II. According to theCleveland Clinic, it’s “a condition in which you display a revved up energy or activity level, mood or behavior."

“Hypomania is a less severe form of mania, and both are commonly part of bipolar disorder,” the Cleveland Clinic says — adding thatbipolar itselfis a “chronic mood disorder that causes intense shifts in mood, energy levels and behavior.”

Chappell Roan on the October 2024 cover of ‘Rolling Stone’.Inez & Vinoodh

Inez & Vinoodh

“I wasn’t sleeping,” Roan, who was born Kayleigh Amstutz, tellsRolling Stone.“I was on the incorrect meds. I had the energy and the delusion and realized that this app [TikTok] is fueled off of mental illness. Straight up.”

The “Good Luck, Babe!” singer saw another surge in followers after herviral 2024 performanceat New York’s Governor’s Ball where she was dressed as the Statue of Liberty.

“I was getting almost a hundred thousand followers a day. At first, I was in severe denial,” she told the publication.

“They would literally show me some stats and the only thing I could do is say, ‘No, no, no. It’s not like that.’ I couldn’t say, ‘I am gaining success.’ ”

Looking back, Roan says her bipolar diagnosis “saved” her family.

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“I was like, ‘I can’t go my whole life hating my parents for not knowing how to handle a really, really sick child.’ I was just miserable,” she said, adding that growing up in Willard, Mo., “I felt so miserable for my whole childhood.”

“I was just a freak and really shy and self-conscious and modest,” she told the outlet. “All my parents could do was try their best.”

Chappell Roan performs in August at the Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, Calif.Steve Jennings/FilmMagic

Steve Jennings/FilmMagic

Roan talked about how she struggled with her success, sharing that in 2022, she sought treatment after sharing she’d been thinking about suicide.

“I realized I can’t live like this. I can’t live being so depressed or feel so lost that I want to kill myself. I just got my shit together,” she told the outlet.

“I would not have been able to handle any of this even a year ago today. It would’ve just been too much.”

These days, she’s maintaining boundaries — even if it meansrethinking her relationshipwith her fans, although, she says, “I don’t want to be agoraphobic.”

In August, Roan sharedvideos blasting fans for “creepy”behavior.

“I don’t care that abuse and harassment, stalking, whatever, is a normal thing to do to people who are famous or a little famous,” Roansaid in one video.

As she toldRolling Stone, fans “need to see me as a random bitch on the street.”

“You can’t yell at a random bitch who’s on the sidewalk that you don’t know. It’s considered catcalling or harassment.”

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com