Author: Joe Landers
Greetings readers my name is Joe Landers and I am the author of The Methods of Genius and Madness. My book is on amazon but I used the name Maverick Hunting because although all of the events are true, I changed everyone’s names. I have bipolar type 1 disorder with psychotic features. I once believed that my car could run on spiritual belief. By that I mean that I thought God would keep my car running if I believed hard enough. That was during a bipolar episode and it’s the only time my car ran out of gas. I was diagnosed in 2008 when I was in college after taking magic mushrooms on spring break. When I was first diagnosed, I was immediately sent to a mental hospital. That’s the first time I lost my shoe laces. After I got out it was hard for me to even shower once a week. I was not able to take care of myself. My mom flew from Ohio to Arizona to help take care of me when I was at school.
Over the next ten years I would be hospitalized about ten times with my average stay being about a month. I also invented a new kind of dog bed that got patented and wrote several songs three of which were recorded in Nashville. In addition to that I wrote the book “The Methods of Genius and Madness”. So, I was able to do some things but it seemed like every time things were looking up, I got knocked back down. I started my MBA program at Xavier University and got two B’s in two MBA classes. During that time, I was talking to a woman that lived in Russia. I was doing well so I decided to travel to the Dominican Republic which was a risky decision because I generally end up in the mental hospital when I leave the united states.
I ended up flying there anyways and spent a couple wonderful days with her until things spiraled out of control. I went on a huge spending spree buying hundreds of dollars’ worth of souvenirs that I did not need from a small shop there. I ended up breaking some things in the hotel room there which resulted in me being arrested. They threw me in a Dominican prison or jail not sure which. I just know there were 20 of us in once cell that was less than 1,000 square feet. We had to shower together in there and I was the only one who didn’t speak Spanish. We were also guarded by people with machine guns.
My parents had to pay a large sum of money to get me released but they still didn’t know where I was. Someone who had been bringing me food in the jail took me to a hotel where my friend AJ found me. He was a member of the secret service and without him coming I would have probably never gotten out. So that all happened during my first ten years after diagnosis. But now I have been out of the hospital for two years and have been stable on my medicine which is working great. If it wasn’t for my extreme belief that committing suicide is an inexcusable sin, I would have killed myself during those first ten years.
Now things are great. I have a girlfriend who I love, and I am getting my real estate license. Real estate is great for those of us with bipolar because you can work as much or as little as you like. I really wanted to write this blog to let all of you know who are struggling with bipolar disorder that as long as you don’t give up and keep taking your medication while avoiding drugs things will get better. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, its very important that friends and family not give up on there loved ones. If it wasn’t for my parent’s support, I would have been on the streets a long time ago.
You can read Joe’s book, The Methods of Genius and Madness: True accounts of bipolar, here!
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