Karl Shallowhorn grew up on Buffalo’s East Side before moving to Amherst with his adoptive family.
“I was an athlete, not the best. I was a student, not the best. But I did OK, I was involved in activities. I was pretty typical,” he said.
Like many typical teenagers, at 18 Shallowhorn left home for college, where he attended General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan.
“I got involved with drugs and alcohol and between that and the stress of school, being away from home — I call it the perfect storm that created a basically a very hazardous situation for my mental health,” he said.
In the middle of his second semester, Shallowhorn laid catatonic on his dorm room floor after he suffered a major psychotic episode.
At 18, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder — a mental health condition that impacts an estimated 4.4 percent of U.S. adults at some time in their lives, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, and causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity, and concentration, sometimes making it hard to carry out daily tasks.
In late July, the world reacted to Kanye West's manic episode with memes and jokes.
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The incident highlighted that while society has become more open about talking about anxiety or depression, there is still stigma towards people with more severe mental illnesses like bipolar disorder.
The intersection of mental health and pop culture is not new, or new to Shallowhorn who penned an Op-Ed for the Buffalo News about the treatment of Brittney Spears nearly 12 years previously.
In the years since, Shallowhorn has advocated for more empathy when talking about people with mental health conditions.
“Just because you have a mental health condition doesn’t mean that you’re unable to do a job or go to school or live happily,” he said.
Shallowhorn likes to think his life is a living testament to this.
He has lived successfully with his bipolar diagnosis for 40 years, is the chair of the Erie County Anti-Stigma Coalition and president of his own consulting firm for mental health.
Half of all chronic mental illnesses begin by age 14 and three quarters begin by 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But the average delay between first having mental health symptoms and treatment is 11 years, according to the National Alliance for Mental Illness.
“People get frustrated when they’re newly diagnosed because it is a struggle to figure out what works, even if it’s medication or those different tricks of the trade for lack of a better term, to help yourself be well,” Shallowhorn said.
After his first symptoms in college, it took Shallowhorn until he was 25 to come up with a successful treatment plan for himself.
“We can’t let the diagnosis make us who we are,” he said. “It’s not like anyone asks to be born with this condition — it’s not like it’s fun to say, ‘I have bipolar disorder,’ but on the other hand I’ve learned to live with it and be successful with it.”
In the years since, Shallowhorn graduated college, has been married for 26 years, is the father of two and a community advocate for mental health in Western New York.
He maintains positive mental health with his bipolar diagnosis by going to therapy, taking medication, meditating, exercising and listening to his favorite music — something he’s loved since his college days when he worked at Buffalo State’s radio station.
“I think of these last 40 years of my life and it’s been a journey,” Shallowhorn said. “And it’s been remarkable.”
Resources are available, visit letstalkstigma.org, call the 24/7 hour Crisis Services Hotline at 716-834-3131 or visit their website. For family support, visit NAMI Buffalo & Erie County.