Kim says, "As many of you know, Kanye has bipolar disorder. Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does, knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand. I’ve never spoken publicly about how this has affected us at home because I am very protective of our children and Kanye’s right to privacy when it comes to his health. But today, I feel like I should comment on it because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health."

Kim continued in a social media post, "Those that understand mental illness or even compulsive behavior know that the family is powerless unless the member is a minor. People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try."

Seemingly referring directly to her husband's disturbing South Carolina rally over the weekend, Kim said ... "I understand Kanye is subject to criticism because he is a public figure and his actions at times can cause strong opinions and emotions. He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, and has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bipolar disorder. Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions."

That being said, Kim was also extremely supportive of Kanye's creativity and success as a businessman. As she put it, "Living with bipolar disorder does not diminish or invalidate his dreams and his creative ideas, no matter how big or unobtainable they may feel to some. That is part of his genius and as we have all witnessed, many of his big dreams have come true."

Kim is breaking her silence on Kanye's troubling behavior ... which started in South Carolina and continued with Twitter meltdowns Monday and Tuesday night.

He also took aim at his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner, and shared a text he sent her, urging her to call and to stop ignoring him. Ye also implied she was behind Kim posing for Playboy and selling her sex tape.

Before that -- as we first told you -- Kanye's off-the-rails campaign stop Sunday in North Charleston, South Carolina raised major alarm bells that he's unwell ... on top of raising questions about his political future.

During the rally, Ye got controversial by ranting that Harriet Tubman did not free slaves ... and potentially hurt his business deals later on by threatening to cut ties with Adidas and Gap.

He also got VERY personal about his family ... openly discussing how during Kim's first pregnancy they talked about abortion, something he says he wanted. Kanye even admitted Kim might divorce him for disclosing this info, and our sources tell us the family's definitely upset by it.

All of this recent bizarre behavior can be traced back to July 4, when the rapper made a surprise Twitter announcement revealing his presidential bid.

TMZ broke the story ... those close to Kanye are adamant he's in the midst of a serious bipolar episode -- which Kim is now confirming -- and they say it's impacted his decision-making.

You'll recall ... Kanye has said in the past he sometimes doesn't take his meds for bipolar disorder because it stifles his creativity.

In her Wednesday morning post, Kim asked the public and the media to show Kanye, and their family, "the compassion and empathy that is needed so that we can get through this."