NEED TO KNOW
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David Harbour was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 25
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In a recent interview, he shared that he “had a breakdown” last year, and he said his ensuing “erratic behavior” was “embarrassing”
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“It’s not something I choose, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Harbour said
David Harbour got candid in a new interview, opening up about his mental health.
The actor has been candid about dealing with bipolar disorder, which he was diagnosed with at 25, he previously said on a 2018 episode of Marc Maron’s podcast. After making headlines at the end of 2025 for alleged erratic behavior — which he followed up with by dropping out of a Stranger Things finale event — Harbour admitted to Variety that he “had a breakdown.”
“I do suffer from some confusing stuff — it’s confusing as hell,” Harbour said. “I think a lot of people have a friend or a brother or a co-worker that deals with mental health stuff, and they’re probably pretty confused when that person gets depressed or gets manic or has an episode.”
He explained that when he’s under “extreme stress” his mental health disorder “can cause somewhat erratic behavior.”
“It’s embarrassing, and I’m ashamed of it,” Harbour, 51, said. “It’s not something I choose, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
David Harbour attends the BoxLunch Holiday Gala Honoring Feeding America at Academy LA on November 9, 2023
Credit: Steven Simione/Getty
He continued, “I do feel like, for some of us, our gifts are inextricably linked with our illnesses. To have a nervous system that reacts to the world in a too-delicate way can allow me to have that moment that I love on the swings with Jason [Bateman in DTF St. Louis]. But it can also force me, in moments of extreme stress, to act a little weird.”
“There’s a lot of irresponsible nonsense going on out there,” he added of conversations about mental health.
On the 2018 podcast episode, Harbour shared that he had a “manic episode” at 25, which led to his diagnosis after his parents took him to “a mental asylum for a little bit.”
The experience was “really, really not as fun as you think it is,” he said. “You have a romantic idea of it, like you’re a genius, and then it just winds up being sad and smells like s—.”
After he was diagnosed, he started medication. “I’ve been medicated bipolar for a long time, and I’ve had problems going on and off. I’ve had a struggle, going on and off the medications.”
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David Harbour attends The 2026 Gotham TV Awards at at Cipriani Wall Street on June 1, 2026 in New York City
Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
Harbour has “been in therapy since I got sober in 1999,” he told Future of Personal Health. He recently started doing “intense psychotherapy, and it has made a world of difference in my treatment,” he said.
“There has been a great resurgence in the idea that psychotherapy, along with responsible medication, is key to remission. I have not had a manic flare-up since I started psychoanalysis with a good therapist.”
He also told the outlet what it feels like when he experiences a manic episode. “Thought becomes disordered and chaotic. Things that have no meaning became meaningful. Names, numbers and colors acquire a twisted symbolism. There is a fundamental narcissism at the bottom of it all that makes me think I am the center of all things, for good or for ill.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
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