Creed’s frontman Scott Stapp recently revealed that he suffers from bipolar disorder.
Stapp has made headlines more than once this past year for his bizarre behavior. In November, he released a disturbing video on Facebook where he claimed he was homeless and “under some kind of pretty vicious attack .”
In that same month, Stapp’s wife Jaclyn was forced to make an emergency 911 call after he started experiencing a psychotic episode, where he claimed he was part of the CIA and was supposed to assassinate Obama.
“He thinks he’s part of the CIA. He thinks they’re trying to kill him and he has a bunch of paperwork in his backpack that says he’s a CIA agent and he was supposed to assassinate Obama.”
Now, six months later, during an exclusive interview with People Magazine , Stapp is opening up about his battle with mental illness that was brought on by his downward spiral with drugs and alcohol.
“I had a psychotic break that was brought on by alcohol and drug abuse,” he said. “I was hallucinating. I drove around the United States for a month, following an angel that I saw on the hood of my car.”
“In my delusional thinking, I thought my family was involved in ISIS, and that millions of dollars had been taken from me to support terrorism. All of it was nonsense. I was out of my mind.”
“I’m lucky to be alive,” he added.
When he finally hit rock bottom, Scott entered a dual diagnostic facility where he was involved in an intensive program that included therapy and medication. He is also in a 12-step program where he attends meetings and has a sponsor.
“Nothing is more important than my sobriety.” he said.
While Scott admits he struggled with the diagnosis and the stigma that comes along with it, with the support of his wife, he was eventually able to accept that he had been suffering from bipolar disorder.
“It was hard to process,” he said. “There’s a stigma associated with it. But [my wife] Jaclyn kept telling me, ‘Embrace it. We love you.’ It became a big sign of relief, because finally, we had an answer.”
Jaclyn, a children’s author and founder of CHARM (Children Are Magical) said the diagnosis “made sense” and helped her understand what he had been experiencing.
“It made sense,” she said. “I definitely knew there was something going on for years, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.”
[Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images]
