For much of the past two years, Catelynn Lowell’s struggle with mental illness has been documented by Teen Mom OG camera crews.
Lowell has been commended for her bravery in being so honest about her difficulties, and many have heaped praise on her husband, Tyler Baltierra, for his endless support of his struggling wife.
Now, Tyler is opening up about his own mental health issues, and like Catelynn, he’s sharing details about his battle in hopes of diminishing damaging stigmas encouraging fans to seek help when they need it.
Baltierra revealed on Twitter this week that he’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
In a series of candid tweets, Tyler revealed that he initially planned to keep his diagnosis a secret, but was encouraged by his wife to go public with his struggle.
“Honestly, I wasn’t even planning on releasing that info, but once Cate mentioned about my recent diagnosis, I figured “what the hell!?” the 26-year-old tweeted.
“Like why am I so against telling anyone!? It’s actually been a little easier to digest since I have been talking about it more,” he added.
Asked if he plans to seek a pharmaceutical solution, Baltierra reveals that he has not yet decided on a course of treatment:
“Well tbh it’s still so new to me,” he wrote.
“So, I’ve been doing non-stop research on the diagnosis, the different remedies to combat symptoms, & how to better understand it. I did refuse medication, but only because I wanted to try all of the natural remedies first. It’s a journey,”
It seems the diagnosis did not come as a total shock to Tyler, who has long suspected he may suffer from a mental illness.
“He mentioned in the past that he thought that maybe he suffered from bipolar disorder, but he wasn’t sure,” a source explained to Radar Online.
“He’s talked about his mood going from super funny and goofy, which he’s known for, to his depressive phases. That was a red flag for him.”
It’s unclear if Tyler’s mental illness will be addressed on future episodes of Teen Mom OG.
But for now, Baltierra is doing his fans a great service by opening up about his condition on social media.
Watch Teen Mom OG online for more on Tyler and Catelynn’s road to greater mental health.