Author: Shirley A. Solanka The ancient words of consolation and reassurance echo, whether from Sunday school or portrayals of graveside services on TV: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” These words are from the Twenty-Third Psalm, the most well-known of a...
Author: Shirley A. Solanka The three of us – my husband, my son, and I – were on a summer vacation, when one morning, while walking past the front yards of Ithaca, N.Y. wild with milkweed and purple coneflower, toward one of that city’s famous gorges, I saw a...
Author: Lianca Lyons I was crying uncontrollably at work because I was mentally, physically, and emotionally EXHAUSTED. I would wake up in the middle of the night sending work texts and emails about things I had either forgotten about or needed to remember. My...
Author: Maria Eva Jacobs My name is Maria Eva Jacobs and I have lived with Bipolar Disorder my entire adult life. I’m here to tell you, there is life after diagnosis! Though still on medication, I live today in remission and while that is not a perfect walk, it is...
Author: Cory Anderson As a therapist, I thought I would be well equipped to handle anything marriage threw my way, including my wife’s bipolar II diagnosis. Well, I was wrong. Even our journey of getting this diagnosis was long and fraught with potholes. I imagine a...
I have been a “church girl” all of my life and have been shaped by the traditions and cultural importance of the African American church community. I grew up with a common belief that you can “pray away” illness, but there was a contrast in how physical illness and...
My only brother received a gift two days after his birthday, and ten days before Christmas. It was a gift that every person who suffers from mental illness wants. He carried a cross throughout his life called bipolar disorder. Many people – including me, our...
I want to start by saying that this list of spiritual traps accompanying bipolar disorder is no scientific article. Rather, it is a list of my own experiences and those of my clients searching for ways to integrate spiritual wisdom gleaned during times of madness...
Until I was 16, I thought that my uncle had died of cancer rather than suicide. There was always a dark joke in the family that we have a history of mental illness in our lineage. There is the distant cousin who lived in a tiger cage because, well, he thought he was a...
How do I pray, as someone who lives with bipolar disorder? In my younger years when I was fairly stabilized on medicine, the daily Scriptures were my prayer and my study, sometimes studying several hours with my commentaries and allowing the silence to foster the Holy...
Sarah and her husband, Sean, each wrote a blog post about their marriage for our Couples Series. Read Sean’s blog here. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of twenty-two after six months of marriage to my husband, Sean. We werent surprised. We...
It is that time of year again. The holidays. People often think that they should be a happy time of year, what with the music and the lights and the gatherings. But, actually, they can be a difficult time of the year for many people, and I don’t just mean people who...
This is Mental Health Awareness Week, and as a minister who has bipolar disorder, I am aware that churches tend to be filled with silence not awareness. One of my passions is helping churches become more aware of mental health issues and know that recovery is...
I was eighteen years old when I first experienced acute manic psychosis. I had just arrived at the University of Georgia for my freshman fall semester when I suddenly had what seemed like a profound spiritual awakening. I felt as if I was waking up from a bad dream,...
I have been very anxious lately although a good deal of what I feel is excitement. Combined they have made me less than completely functional lately. Over a year ago, I asked the director of Disciples Home Missions if the Disciples of Christ could put information...
As we go through our journey with our disorder, we need support. Whether it’s from family, friends, or a higher power, it is essential that we have someone that will always have our backs. We can’t do this alone. I’m forever grateful for my God,...
I am just going to come out and say it. I, Nanieve, am relieved that I can finally rip down the gaudy Christmas baubles, fold up the tree, and wipe the stupid but, expected cheerful grin off my face. To me, the festive season feels unbearably stressful....
I hope you all are having a wonderful Holiday Season and you all have a blessed Christmas. This month’s blog entry will be a poem that I wrote; I hope it brings you comfort and strength, though this time of year is a joyous time for many, many others suffer alone and...
Outside its cold, inside I’m warm as I sit down to drink my hot cup of herbal tea and write my blog. Usually each month when I submit my blog, I address a certain topic that is important in the mental health community, but this month I want to focus on what it means...
Do you have a hobby? I don’t know if you do, but if you don’t, then you might want to think about getting one. When I first told a good friend of mine that I have bipolar disorder, she recommended that I find a good hobby. She was right! I’ll...
“We don’t have anything in common” my friend lamented, “sometimes I wonder why we even stay together.” As I listened I absently glanced at our white patio doors with it’s 3 hinges. “Well” I shared with sudden inspiration “it only takes three hinges to hold a door...
For the past 5 ½ years I have concentrated on one thing and one thing only … getting my son’s and my own mental health in tip top shape. Finding the answer to decades of issues with my diagnosis of bipolar illness in 2009 was just the beginning for me. At...
According to a Baylor study, more people with a mental illness seek help from clergy than from mental health professionals. This concerns me for two reasons. First, clergy learn very little about mental illness when they go to seminary. Second, like...
I have loved writing, for as long as I can remember. I have written during many of my happiest moments in my life and of course during some of the toughest times as well. Within just the last couple of weeks, my husband’s and my world turned upside down....
This post is written from a Christian perpective. I sat there in a beautiful room awaiting the marriage of my cousin’s son and I looked up at the chandelier overhead. It was exquisite in its design and purity. It even had star shapes formed in the middle of...
During my recovery from bipolar illness my therapist suggested that I increase my physical and spiritual health. He said I should establish routines that could make daily prayer and exercise something I could look forward to (are you kidding me?) After many...
Every time someone suggests I read an article on having Bipolar, I discover that articles written or paraphrased by normal people always find a way to quip on how people with mental illness should adopt more normal activities in order to enjoy life. It is appalling...
Those of us who have a mental illness are sometimes told and also think that our mental illness is our fault because we lack faith. This is not the case. Mental illness is a biological disorder and can affect anyone. Let me tell you a story found in the Bible. The...
Good afternoon readers, I hope this entry finds you fighting to keep going. Because I truly believe with all my heart every precious life has such Value in this world, and I want to offer you as much encouragement as I...
New Years is a time for a new beginning and a fresh start. It is a time to let go of the pain from our past and focus on today, now, and the future. I have a lot of pain from my past, depression, fear, psychosis, anxiety, emotional eating, and low self-esteem. 2013 is...
