David Harbour says he is ‘living his dreams’ after quitting alcohol and confronting his ‘manic and chaotic’ bipolar disorder – three months after marriage split

David Harbour says quitting alcohol and confronting his mental health issues enabled him to ‘live his dreams’ – three months after his separation from Lily Allen. 

The Stranger Things star was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in his twenties and has since been open about living with the condition, typified by extreme mood swings and erratic behaviour. 

And Harbour, 50 – whose marriage to Allen came to an abrupt end in October amid allegations of his infidelity with other women – believes the life-changing decisions he made as a younger man have given him a ‘tremendously fulfilling life.’ 

‘I wanted folks to know that although I am living my dreams now, this is not the way it’s always been,’ he told Future Of Personal Health.

‘There might be a mother of a child recently diagnosed with a mental illness out there who worried that her child would be an outcast. I wanted to speak to her and to the millions that know and love folks who are suffering.’ 

He added: ‘My mental health disorder is something I live with, but it does not define me. However, if it defines you I can assure you that there is a way to have a tremendously fulfilling life. 

David Harbour says quitting alcohol and confronting his mental health issues enabled him to ‘live his dreams’ – three months after his separation from Lily Allen

Harbour – whose marriage to Allen came to an abrupt end in October – believes the life-changing decisions he made as a younger man have given him a ‘tremendously fulfilling life’ 

‘I’m living proof that you can be anything you want to be. 

‘There were times when I thought I’d never get to do what I wanted to do in this world or that I’d never get off the couch, frankly, and I want people to know that it does get better.’ 

The actor was given his bipolar diagnosis following a manic episode in his 20s, an incident that led to him being institutionalised for a short period of time by his own parents.

And Harbour – who says he hasn’t had a flare-up ‘since undergoing psychotherapy with a good therapist’ – admits a greater awareness of the condition means he’s now better equipped to deal with its symptoms. 

‘Only recently have I started intense psychotherapy, and it has made a world of difference in my treatment,’ he said. 

Of his past experience with manic episodes, he added: ‘Thought becomes disordered and chaotic. Things that have no meaning became meaningful. Names, numbers and colours acquire a twisted symbolism. 

‘There is a fundamental narcissism at the bottom of it all that makes me think I am the centre of all things, for good or for ill. 

‘My manic episodes are, of course, a manifestation of my own particular psychopathy. They all share those traits, but each episode has been linked to certain fixations I had at the time.’ 

Allen’s doomed marriage to Stranger Things star Harbour served as the inspiration for her latest album, West End Girl  

Harbour has been a core member of the Stranger Things cast since it first premiered on Netflix in 2016, playing former police chief Jim Hopper.

The series aired its last episode on December 31 after two previous volumes premiered over Christmas and New Year.

Harbour spent the weeks leading up to the show’s season five release navigating a tricky global press tour which came after his ex-wife released her bombshell album West End Girl, which seemingly charted the turbulent end of their marriage.

‘Well, some of it is based on truth and some of it is fantasy,’ she said of the album to Interview.