Sanjay Singhal

• Singhal was diagnosed with bipolar disorder around age 30. He has said that he initially rejected the diagnosis because he associated manic depression with being “crazy” and was more willing to accept that he was depressed. [2]
• He has since discussed the diagnosis publicly in interviews, podcasts and his own writing, including his first-person essay “Yes, I Have Bipolar Disorder.” [2][1]

• Singhal has described a period when he was sleeping about three hours a night while building a technology company, spending heavily on parties and hotels, and using personal savings and credit to keep the business going. Within six months, the company failed and he entered a deep depression, eventually declaring personal bankruptcy with about $550,000 in debt. [1]
• He has described depressive periods in which he felt mentally paralyzed and could remain unable to get out of bed for three days. He later characterized his life before finding effective medication at age 38 as a “roller coaster.” [6]

• Singhal has said that he initially resisted taking medication appropriate for bipolar disorder because he did not accept the diagnosis. Around age 38, a psychiatrist prescribed lamotrigine, which he has described as highly effective for him and as a medication he continued using for many years. [2]
• He has said that the medication manages his bipolar disorder effectively. He has also explored psychedelic experiences, but has explicitly distinguished those from treatment for his bipolar disorder. [2]

• Singhal has said that finding the right medication significantly improved his ability to manage bipolar disorder. He has described lamotrigine as a “godsend” and said that it had helped him for about 20 years. [2]
• He has continued to speak openly about living with bipolar disorder rather than describing it as something fully behind him, saying, “I was bipolar then. I’m still bipolar now.” [2]

• Singhal has spoken openly about bipolar disorder in part to challenge stigma around mental illness. He has said that greater openness can help people recognize that someone can live with a mental disorder while also being successful, happy and fulfilled. [2]
• Through the Nikean Foundation, which he founded in 2019, Singhal has also directed substantial funding toward mental-health research. In 2021, the foundation gave $5 million to University Health Network in Toronto to establish the Nikean Psychedelic Psychotherapy Research Centre. [7]

“You can have a mental disorder and still be successful, still be happy, flourish in life.”

— Sanjay Singhal [2]