Mariah Carey: 2001 Breakdown Linked To September 11 Attacks & Public ADD

Mariah Carey is in the center of the spotlight right now with the release of her latest album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," and a breakout big screen role in the critically acclaimed, "Precious," but the singer's career hasn't always been hitting such high notes. In a new interview with Paper Magazine, the queen of the music charts says her infamous 2001 breakdown was linked to the events of September 11 and the public's inability to focus on what was important at the time.

"I didn't have the right support system around me at the time," Mariah told the mag, referring to the time of the release of the box office flop, "Glitter" and its panned companion soundtrack, which dropped on September 11, 2001.

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"It was after September 11th. A lot of people taking shots at me had no place to go," She continued. "We are friggin' ADD, this country. There's a huge ADD situation."

Following her 2001 breakdown, the singer stepped back from the public spotlight to recharge – but the singer says this wasn't the only dark time in her life

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"Something happened to me when I was 12. A couple things that were not so great," the 39-year-old explained. "One day I want to write a book about it."

The events of 12-year-old Mariah's life appear to have had a lasting effect on her.

"I always say I am eternally 12. I was a tease, that type of girl. Once I learned how to put my hair and makeup together, I was like, 'I'm on a roll,'" she told the mag.

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And like many young people, Mariah reveled that she suffered from host of insecurities during her adolescence.

"I have had very low self-esteem my whole life. When I was 12 or 13, I remember walking up the driveway, and this guy who was 20 – which may have been highly inappropriate – said to me, 'I like your pants,' and I was like 'Oh, that looks good? Oh, OK, I will wear tight pants now,'" she told the mag.

As for the type of clothes that Mariah feels most comfortable in now, the singer said, "loose ones."

And although Mariah might have battled low self-esteem in the past, she says she can now put out fires when called upon – literally!

"We had flowers all over the bed, a very romantic moment," Mariah said of last her last Valentine's Day with husband Nick Cannon when a fire broke out in their home. "Nick was standing there. I took control. He had given me an enormous amount of roses so I picked up the vase and poured out the roses, and went back and forth from the bathroom putting out the flames with water…you know, I'm good in a crisis."

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MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Mariah Carey - Nick Cannon - Music Charts - Memoirs - Music

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