Passion Pit’s Michael Angelakos Opens Up About Bipolar Disorder Battle in PSA

Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos has opened up about his battle with bipolar disorder in a new public service announcement (PSA) for a mental health organization.

In 2012, the band was forced to cancel a string of summer tour dates so Angelakos could properly receive treatment for depression and bipolar, a battle he had been keeping secret for years.

Now he has received the help he needs, Angelakos is not only talking publicly about his mental health woes but has also thrown his support behind the non-profit organization Bring Change 2 Mind, which was founded by actress Glenn Close and works to end the stigma around mental illness.

As part of the charity’s #StrongerThanStigma campaign aimed at men, Angelakos appears in a PSA assuring those struggling with similar problems that it can be improved with treatment.

In the video, he says, “I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 18. I couldn’t accept it when I was that age. I just wanted to fit in. Over the course of my life, I was just not properly addressing the fact that this was it – I have to live with this.

“Once I started accepting my mental condition, it hurt a little bit, but then everything improved. And when people ask me what it’s like to live with bipolar, you just have to adjust and figure out how you’re gonna live your life the way you’re gonna live it and achieve what you want to achieve – but you can only do that once you get help.”

He continues, “Being as honest and transparent as you can be is actually really, really empowering, because finally, it shows you have guts. I get to make music. Somehow I have a job. Somehow I have a wife. Somehow I have friends – and they come back and support you. And if they don’t, then they really aren’t friends, are they?”

You can watch Michael’s PSA below:

Photo Credit: Youtube