A ‘complete zombie’: James Packer opens up about bipolar treatment

James Packer has opened up about his struggles with mental health, revealing he was left feeling like a “complete zombie” after being prescribed lithium in 2022.

In an interview with the Seven Network’s Spotlight on Sunday night, his first face-to-face interview in almost a decade, the billionaire businessman was candid about some of his personal battles, including his bipolar diagnosis, Ozempic use and his break-up with singer Mariah Carey in 2016.

James Packer speaking candidly on Spotlight on Sunday night (left) and with then-fiancee Mariah Carey in 2016.Credit: Seven Network; Getty Images

“Mariah and I had broken up and she thought I’d planted a story in a magazine, which I hadn’t, and it made her look bad,” the 57-year-old told Spotlight’s Liam Bartlett.

“She was threatening to say things about me and so it was, um ... it was a train wreck. It was a train wreck.

“The times that I’ve been at my worst, you know, I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

Packer and Carey first met in 2014, sparking a whirlwind romance that culminated in their engagement in 2016. The pair called the engagement off just months later in October that year.

For her part, Carey has spoken little about the relationship, failing to mention Packer in her memoir. But she told The Guardian in 2020: “If it was a relationship that mattered, it’s in the book. If not, it didn’t occur.

“We didn’t have a physical relationship, to be honest with you.”

Carey herself revealed her battle with bipolar disorder in 2018, saying she was diagnosed in 2001 following a physical and emotional breakdown.

Packer has previously spoken about his mental health when he revealed his bipolar diagnosis to a NSW casino inquiry in 2020.

James Packer answering questions at the casino inquiry.

Speaking on Sunday about the various medications he has been prescribed for his mental health, he said, “the worst drug I was on, I was put on lithium in 2022 and within two weeks I was a zombie. I was a complete zombie.”

“My experience is having worked with psychiatrists in Israel, in Argentina, in America and all sorts of places is if you get put on the wrong drugs, it can be worse. It can be worse [than the mental illness itself].”

Lithium is a mood-stabilising drug commonly used to treat bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. It can help reduce the feelings of mania often associated with bipolar disorder, such as excitement, high mood and distraction.

Professor Christopher Davey, Cato chair and head of the Department of Psychiatry at The University of Melbourne, says lithium is the “main evidence-based treatment for bipolar disorder”.

“We still use it a lot to this day because it’s a very effective treatment, but like all treatments for mental illness, it works for some people very well and for other people it doesn’t do much at all.”

Davey says the zombie-like effect of lithium described by Packer might align with side effects some people experience such as sedation and impaired concentration. These can be experienced on a spectrum, from mild to more severe. He says people generally start on a low dose to account for potential side effects.

Associate Professor Tamsyn Van Rheenen, head of the Mood Psychosis Spectrum Group at The University of Melbourne, says it’s tricky to diagnose Packer’s symptoms, but points out “there’s really very little evidence to suggest that lithium has negative effects in the context of cognition – I’m talking about our thinking skills like our memory, attention, concentration.”

On the contrary, she says there is evidence that treatments like lithium can actually have a positive effect on cognition. In fact, she says emerging research shows that 40 to 60 per cent of people with bipolar disorder experience some kind of cognitive dysfunction– meaning the uncomfortable feelings cited by Packer could potentially be related to the disorder itself, rather than the lithium.

“It’s not just when they’re having a manic or depressive episode. It’s ongoing and so that really affects their work, education, interpersonal situations, relationships, all sorts of stuff. [But] It’s not traditionally been recognised.”

And contrary to popular understanding, she says the presentation of bipolar disorder is not homogenous.

Packer went on to speak about his various mental health diagnoses.

“The latest psychiatrist I’m with [has since] told me I was bipolar, told me I was OCD and told me I was PTSD. So told me I was all three.

“But when I was just being told I was bipolar, my truth was that my doctors would do anything to make sure I wasn’t in mania – and as long as I wasn’t in mania, they were happy,” said Packer of his initial treatment.

“It’s entirely reasonable that a psychiatrist who was treating somebody with bipolar disorder would recommend they take lithium,” says Davey.

“That would be very good practice. You’d hope that whichever psychiatrist prescribed it to him went through the potential benefits and side effects in detail. And that he was in a position to make an informed decision.”

And while Packer mainly spoke of the effects of mania on his life, Davey says depression is typically a far more prevalent and persistent part of bipolar disorder, but that mania can often present as more outwardly destructive.

Packer continued to explain that he is not aware of what medication he is currently taking.

“I’m on something and I’m really embarrassed what I’m about to say ... I have a nurse that travels with me.

“I couldn’t tell you what I’m on because I’m on a bunch of things and someone does it for me.”

He did, however, confirm that he is on Ozempic, but continues to gain weight despite the fact that weight loss is a common side effect of the drug.

“I’m on it and I’m putting on weight,” he said. “I’m eating a lot of sugar. I’m consuming a lot of sugar.

“It’s just truckloads of sugar, truckloads of sugar – biscuits, everything, all of that.”

But having given up alcohol in 2017, Packer said he is in a much better place and is not concerned about tipping the scales.

“I’ve put the weight on, but I’ve been mentally better. For me, it’s a journey. You’re not interviewing someone who’s saying to you: ‘I’ve got it worked out and I’ve got all the answers.’

“I’m here saying, ‘I’m not that person (but) I’m doing my best’.”

If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue. In the event of an emergency dial triple zero (000).

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