Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos stunned fans on Tuesday (04Apr17) by live-streaming footage of himself undergoing electromagnetic treatment on his brain to treat his bipolar disorder.
The rocker has been open about his struggles with mental illness since 2012, when he had to cancel a string of tour dates with the band due to his condition, which had started to affect him physically.
Michael, who has been battling serious mood swings since he was 17, has since become an activist to raise awareness for the condition and help others in similar situations, and on Tuesday, he decided to share his treatment experiences with fans on Facebook.
In the video, he was shown undergoing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a non-invasive process in which a medical professional uses a magnetic field generator to stimulate areas of the brain with electromagnetic currents.
"This is not lobotomy," he smiled to viewers. "This stuff helps me write music which helps me not be symptomatic. I don't write music better when I'm manic or depressive."
Michael then used the opportunity to have an honest talk with his medic, referred to as Bobby, about bipolar disorder, while also answering fans' questions about his experiences with mental illness to encourage more open discussion.
"If we don't talk about it, that's quite literally why no one understands what we're talking about," he explained. "I don't have anything to hide."
In addition to raising awareness about the condition, Michael also recently launched a mental health organisation to provide musicians with legal, educational, and healthcare services.
