Singer and businessman Gab Valenciano has admitted that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental condition which could trigger unusual mood swings.
He also revealed that he has clinical depression got more than a year now.
“I have been diagnosed with clinical depression and bipolar disorder early last year,” Valenciano told CNN Philippines.
He said that living with a mental health condition means living a life with extreme ups and downs without middle ground.
“It takes one single trigger for all that to go haywire, and all that to go into chaos,” Valenciano explained.
The singer revealed that were times he would see himself as a failure and disappoints people because he is Gary Valenciano’s son.
Shortly before his guesting on the network, Valenciano had a mental breakdown because of stress from work and forgot to take his prescribed medicines.
“Recently, my workload has quadrupled, not just with Frontrow, a lot of other things. When he woke up I saw my phone, and I kind of, like, panicked,” Valenciano said.
He called his parents and told them to bring him to the hospital.
Valenciano also revealed how his divorce from his wife greatly affected his mental health. He however clarified that his split with Tricia Centenera was not the main reason why he had mental breakdowns but more of a result of isolating himself after the divorce.
“Going through a divorce was one thing, but going through a publicized, very well exposed divorce is totally different. I lost a lot of things and I lost a lot of friends,” Valenciano said.
The actor hopes to encourage more people suffering with the same condition to get help and know that they are not alone.
