AJ Lee Says No One In WWE Knew That She Was Suffering From A Mental Illness

During an interview promoting her newly released book, Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules, April Mendez Brooks (a/k/a AJ Lee) explained how her WWE character became a secret outlet for her bipolar disorder.

“[Fate] brought me to this character who was labeled the ‘Crazy Chick,'” Brooks revealed on The Dean Obeidallah Show.

“Nobody knew that I was suffering from bipolar disorder in real life. And so, it really felt like hiding in plain sight and letting all my aggression out. My craziest, darkest moments, my brattiest moments, in front of millions of people on live television, I got to let that all out and expose all of that while still keeping my secret.”

Brooks felt that the outlet of performing in front of the crowd was cathartic and really helped her with coping with her real-life struggle.

“If I didn’t have a healthy outlet for [my bipolar disorder], I would just be at home, breaking walls and doors. So to be able to let that out and say, these are the things that I’d be ashamed of being or I’m afraid to be, these are the things I try not to be, or I’m so scared of becoming one day, and to just say ‘screw it,’ let me be the worst version of myself on TV and make it fun. And people loved it. They were able to connect to that because they feel those flaws inside of them.”

You can listen to Brooks discuss this here.

Crazy Is My Superpower: How I Triumphed by Breaking Bones, Breaking Hearts, and Breaking the Rules is now on sale at Amazon.com for $13.21.