Kanye West - Mentally Ill or Simply an Asshole

Kanye West has recently suffered what appears to be a very public psychotic episode.  I have heard Kanye being called everything from a “fame whore”, to an “Uncle Tom” and a “Sell Out”. That his latest outburst was a publicity stunt. There has also been speculation that Kanye is trying to out-do Jay-Z. For example Jay-Z has Beyonce and Barack Obama's ear. Kayne has tried to replicate this with Kim K and now President-Elect Trump.  To be honest I felt the same way. 

Kanye, for years, has been one my favorite rappers that I would NEVER want to meet in person, grab a drink or 'conversate' with. He always appeared as a person that would not live up to the vision I had in my head, nor does he ever have to. What has always interested me about Kanye is the link between his erratic behavior and being an asshole. As a person that has grown up with multiple family members that suffer from severe mental illnesses, one thing I always make a point to separate is the illness from the “asshole-ness”, if you will. From the perspective of my mother, they are the same, meaning, the illness is making them an asshole. I agree with that to a point - I think the illness makes the “douche-baggery” worse. The “douche-baggery” has to exist to begin with, and I realize that we, as humans, also take advantages where we can. For example, Kanye from several accounts has always been the man we see in front of us now. Before the money and fame. I have heard that his mother kept him in check and on solid ground, until her unfortunate early death.  After that, Kanye became unhinged. 

Psychiatry.org defines Narcissistic personality disorder as 'a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance, a sense of entitlement, take advantage of others or lack empathy.'  

Does this sound familiar?  

After reading that, does that change how you perceive Kanye at all? My best guess is that I was able to nudge maybe 20 % of you. 

How about this? Web MD and many other sources, include environmental factors that can play a major role in mental illness. For example, here are some of the signs of Hypomania in Bi-Polar disorder II:  Decreased need for sleep | Extreme focus on projects at work or at  home | Increased creativity and productivity | Reckless behaviors

To remind you of what led Kanye into his most recent hospitalization, he went in for exhaustion after a few episodes of erratic behavior. For example, his long rant criticizing Jay and Bey and praising Trump. This year alone, he was on tour with 30 shows under his belt, presented in two fashion shows, and released 'The Life of Pablo'. Let’s not even get started on his wife being held at gunpoint in Paris, and the anniversary of losing his beloved mother.  All around the same time. Removing the fame and the money, any regular individual dealing with this amount of stressful events would at least come close to a breaking point. As a creative writer, his mother passing away would be enough of a story arch to start to explain interesting behavior in any individual.  In part two, we will dig into personality disorders and the challenges of dealing with them one in Mentally Ill or Simply an Asshole Part 2.