Nearly a month after beginning treatment for a physical and emotional breakdown, Mariah Carey is taking tentative steps out of seclusion.

Last week, Carey paid a quiet visit to Fishkill, New York's Camp Mariah, where she spoke to young summer campers and signed autographs, according to the Fresh Air Fund, which runs the camp with financial help from Carey.

On Monday, Carey posted an audio message to fans on her official Web site (www.mariahcarey.com) for the first time since her breakdown.

"I just want to say thank you so much for all the letters, and everything that I got from you," she said. "I want you to know you definitely can't believe everything you read."

Carey said that she was "taking care" of herself, and that as she spoke, she was "looking at the most beautiful rainbow that is going across the entire sky."

"I love you much," she told fans.

Carey's publicist did not return calls for comment on her client's status.

Carey's new album, Glitter, is due September 11, with its accompanying movie scheduled to open 10 days later.

A video for "Never Too Far," the second single from Glitter — assembled from movie footage without Carey's participation — is garnering airplay (see [article id="1446593"]"Mariah Carey Hasn't Shot New Video, But One's Coming Anyway"[/article]).

Just before her breakdown, which left her hospitalized for two weeks, Carey used her Web site to post two distraught audio messages.

"What I'd like to do is just take a little break, or at least get one night's sleep without someone popping up about a video," she said at the time.

For a preview of Mariah's Glitter LP, check out MTV.com's Mariah Carey Glitter Listening Party.

For a full interview with Mariah Carey, check out [article id="1446443"]"Mariah Carey: Under Pressure"[/article].