Bipolar, but still Christian : Just Another Challege

 I’m haven’t used my “happy light” in a long time, but it seemed like a good idea today. The sky is grey and it’s been raining a few days. The light mimics sunlight to help treat seasonal effective disorder. Fancy title for I need more sun. Our world is a scary place right now. Besides the worldwide violence there is an increase in senseless crimes like school shootings and church shootings. Wildfires are destroying whole neighborhoods, and floods are still displacing people from their homes. We live in harsh times. I saw people who were in such a hurry to get through the grocery store that they couldn’t see anyone else. A world in desperate need of light. As I found myself crumbling today, I have to remind myself of the mission. “Let your light so shine before men…” Matthew 5:16. People think I am naive when I choose to dwell on positive things. I am aware of the ugly things going on around me. Some days you can feel it in the atmosphere. A heaviness flows that is contagious. I kn...

 I feel not so much a storm as a little shower of emotional rain. My mind is filled to the brim with thoughts and trying not to go batty trying to sort them through on my own. Then I start feeling isolated as I have no one to talk to. I have therapy next week so I will talk then for sure. It’s not even anything bad; it’s just so full I am thinking out loud. That never bothered me before, but now I am feeling unsteady. I have talked to myself my whole life. I am certainly not going to stop now, but it feels like a gateway to the enemy deceiving me all over again. He can disguise his voice to sound like anyone else. So if my thoughts are out loud, I’m Vulnerable. I miss my friends. I have a few here and there . I miss lighthearted fun. I am just waiting for God to pull the curtain on this season and to start to feel more like myself again. I’m not asking God for anything He doesn’t want me to have, I just need to get through this little shower. I know God still has things for me to d...

 Talked to my doctor today. He feels the medicine I am on is a rather high dose. He is going to reduce it which should help me stay awake during the day. I am ready to try these changes and see what happens. I have been sleeping nine to ten hours a night plus naps. Its way too much. I am hoping the adjustment will allow me to start a more normal routine and eventually go back to work, Pray that I don't have side effects to the medicine. I have been taking Cogentin which is a for side effects medicine, but the medicine has its own side effects. Hopefully, I don't have to take that anymore.     I have been feeling trapped and depressed after several days of low energy and seclusion. I even got super irritable which wasn't super fun either. My prayers of late are with me asking Why? and How? a lot. I know God has a plan, but I have to ask how do I do this? Waiting for the sunrise till I can see things more clearly. I haven't said much to anyone as I already feel judged....

 I had multiple people think I was depressed. I wasn’t. Mania is the opposite. Unfortunately, Newton’s law still applies. “What goes up must come down.” I definitely am feeling melancholy as my Pastor would say. Being still too tired to function normally, I am feeling down. Let’s face it; this is the hardest part after a mania. You can see the fear in people’s faces. They are concerned you’ll break. I am not going to break. I am weak though. I might need to cry. I might need to be reminded to look up. Now that reality has set in, my confidence is shaky. This isn’t my first time fighting this. I want to glorify God in the storm. Unfortunately, I am feeling like I need help. I need to be encouraged. I don’t need a pep talk to tell me to just stop it. I read that verse the other day, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Proverbs 25:11. I am not giving up. God will find a way to lift me back up again. 

 I finally got some therapy. I am reading a book about burn out. I see that I have to work on changing some of my inner dialogue. Meaning if I want to get better then I need to address some of the unhealthy thinking I have had. I would stand guard over anyone else, but hesitate to defend myself or speak up. I know coming now I would be over compensating. Hopefully, I can find a balance along the way. I know what it means to be silenced and it’s not a good feeling. I can be kind and still speak up. Praying I find a way. I miss my work clients. Hopefully this brain of mine will calm down soon. I know God is able to heal me. I hope I can see myself in a better light. That He really is pleased with me. That God isn’t asking me to be anyone else. All for now…

 As of today I have been home a little over a week. I am still a little sluggish from the medication, but I am thinking more clearly. There are some things that I can’t decide if they are dream or reality. God will have to show me in time. In the meantime, I can wrap myself in His  truth. Blessings, I received the sweetest cards from a few unexpected places. I shopped for groceries all by myself. We got a new dishwasher. If I don’t celebrate the little things, I won’t notice the bigger ones. That my gut is getting better although it still has its moments. All that to say, I choose joy. I am finding that I have to choose the fruits of the spirt over my own selfish way of looking at life. Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” ‭...

 As of today, I am getting better a little bit at a time. Like the drip, drip of a faucet I get just a little better every day. Concentration still causes physical pain. My brain is tired and that’s all there is to it.  The medicine I’m on for that makes me sleep. Hopefully eventually I’ll have enough sleep. I feel like I am watching other people’s lives while I sit on the couch eating popcorn. I know God is still on the throne as someone I used to go to would say.  Nothing takes Him by surprise. God wants me to sit in quiet with Him.  I took for granted the quiet until it was gone. We all need quiet time with the Father. Sit on a rock. Enjoy the peace. Philippians 4:6-7 tells us not to anxious, but to give our concerns over to God. Then in verse seven He gives us peace.

 “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬ This verse has been coming to mind daily for several weeks now. I had no idea why. I thought to myself , “Why God? Am I not humble?” I wasn’t prepared for the answer. You see I just spent nine days in a psychiatric facility. It doesn’t get much lower. I tried to read the Bible, but my eyes couldn’t focus on the words. I read the same passage over and over. Sometimes we are just broken at the feet of Jesus.  I was still me. A little all over the place that first day after several days of little sleep. God never left me. I generally keep this part of my life  hush, hush but I was there to give God glory. Once again, I can give Him all the glory. Without God, I would have stopped fighting to be well. Without God, I would have suffered alone. I wasn’t afraid to go, but definitely dreaded it. A mentally ill person is the same person with extra emotions due ...

 This last few weeks I had my first manic episode in twenty five years. I won’t get into the details right now as I have to concentrate on getting better. I will say that God protected me each step of the way. Sometimes He speaks in a quiet voice; sometimes, He sends a messenger. How ever God chooses to speak, it’s best to just trust Him. Once again I lost all my freedom. But God! God gave me opportunities to encourage other people and even give the gospel. He can do such amazing things. Just trust in the Lord. 

 Have you ever settled for just fine? Have you ever found yourself in pain every day and been told this is just normal for your age? After just not feeling good for a long time, I realized I was gaining weight again rapidly. I found this webinar about low thyroid and weight loss. I thought what’s the harm? I knew after that first session that I had found a solution. People have been telling me for years how they gave up sugar and felt amazing. I thought I just couldn’t do it. Now years later even before I started to watch I knew I have to give up sugar. Giving up gluten didn’t really help me because so much of the gluten free foods are loaded with sugar. Anyway, if you see me eating a chocolate bar, send help 🤣. I really want to wake up in the morning ready to start a day. Like that feeling on Christmas morning when you just can’t wait to get out of bed. What would it be like to feel like that every day? My pain is less some days than others. Exercise helps. I am thankful my God l...

 Here’s the thing, I don’t look my age. I don’t always act my age either. I see no reason to fear a number. How long I live isn’t tied to my age. No, how long I live is decided by God himself. True if I live it up with too much unhealthy choices I probably won’t see years much past eighty. I have no promise of long life. I do feel older. You just wake up and suddenly things are harder. Like spraining your ankle because you can’t feel your foot. Some days are easier than others. I used to walk and walk and now I have to stop way sooner. I guess people are a little nicer now that they think I am struggling. Truly I am fine. It just becomes normal. Just keep going. The hard part for me is the same as ever. I feel like a fly on the wall that people would rather squish than listen to. I understand I am different. I will always be a little different. I stopped fighting that a while ago. But sometimes I wouldn’t mind being almost done instead of halfway through. This world is ugly and lif...

 I have been in a loop of almost enough sleep for a couple of weeks now. I had already started to get a little fuzzy and confused. I finally had time off to sleep in and still woke up too early. This time I went back to sleep the times determined to get enough sleep to restore my brain. I got it. I guess my breathing wasn’t great during the night probably why I woke up so much. Anyway, hopefully now I can think straight to do what I need to do. Sometimes, I got to turn off everything and just rest. That isn’t laziness. It’s necessary. I have been teaching on Elijah this last month. The last lesson was on I Kings 19. Elijah is told by the angel of the Lord to ‘rest for the journey is too great for you.’  It is one of my favorite passages because it shows God’s tender loving care for his servant in weakness. Humans all have weaknesses and limitations, but God has no limits. When we cannot take another step, He takes care of us. Whether it means us needing to sleep or us needing ...

  I started this blog to have a place to talk about mental illness and being a Christian. I still have bipolar disorder. I am very stable ninety-nine percent of the time. Dealing with racing thoughts and anxiety currently. I had reduced my lithium dose a little back in November and now I am getting back to my prior dosage. All to get to why I am writing. Why do Christians think mental health is a spiritual illness. It’s not. The brain isn’t functioning correctly and that imbalance is causing my symptoms. The Spiritual can definitely impact us especially when we are symptomatic. However, it’s like aggravating an already damaged area. Meaning the devil most certainly takes advantage of weakness to attack me when I am unwell. Even after sending him on his way, I still have to deal with the daily struggle of my actual illness until everything calms down again. Then deal with Christians who want to pray away my brain functions. God made me this way! Unless and until He chooses to change...

 Honestly, I just need to vent for a second. My hubby and I both work and we are not poor. Unfortunately, though with chronic conditions we have to see specialist doctors every 4-6 months. One appointment to mine is about $84 dollars if they haven’t raised it. My primary charges $115-150. Labs have to be done every six months. They usually cost about $150, but this last time they added separate charges for each test and it was $550. My insurance covered $51 of that bill. Still paying on an ER visit last January when had trouble breathing and they gave me a breathing treatment. That was around $5,000. I have paid almost half down. Good old Wellspan sends these unpleasant reminders even though I am making regular payments. I learned the hard way years ago. Legally if you pay something, they can’t report you to collections, but if you miss a payment they will immediately pounce. Anyway, bottom line is we have enough bills that paying them right away just wasn’t doable. The more free h...

Well, I was all set to be obnoxious and say I love my husband. But I will spare you the ick🤣. Tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour and started choking on mucus so not sleeping. My husband needs to sleep now more than I do so hopefully after something hot to drink I can try again. I had a lot of sinus pressure the last few days so unfortunately everything probably started going into my throat. Honestly, I am trying not be affected by my circumstances. Meaning this time of the year I could be really depressed. I am trying to focus on all the blessings I have, but in the quiet sometimes it’s a struggle. I get to feeling lonely and then I get around people and feel overwhelmed. Then I ask myself, what’s wrong with me? Truly I enjoy my time with friends, but it winds me up so much that I have to calm way down. I remember sleepovers when I was a kid. We’d stay up as long as we possibly could. Eating Doritos in the middle of the night is not for those with weak stomachs. Then we’d go home...

 These last few weeks have certainly had their ups and downs. I am facing doctor frustration again. I was told by the foot doctor that my shoes were too tight. I got larger shoes and my feet hurt more than ever. I think it’s nerve pain since it’s burning and sharp. Probably won’t matter what kind of shoes I wear. Oh well. I lost a little weight and that’s good. Sometimes I feel every inch of my age. I am considering new ministry possibilities. I don’t know what direction God is leading me to yet. Sometimes all there is to do is wait. I know God hasn’t left me. He just has some more lessons for me to learn.

 This is my scripture response to my last writing. I believe there are times when I have to battle against lies in my own head. I am blessed to believe in Jesus Christ who is the truth(John 14). I also see in scripture that the Holy Spiritual is called the Spirit of truth(John 15:26). Also God the Father, Psalm 31:5, “ O LORD God of truth.” I read in Psalm 63 as king David wrote, “the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped. I thought about the times when too exhausted to fight anymore I just fell into God’s arms and let it go. He fights for us. He does it. I wonder how much energy I waste trying to fight it off myself. Anyway, if you know my God, you know He IS truth and He fights for us. When we’re too weak to stand, He fights. When we’re too weary to speak, He fights for us. III. John 1:4 “ I have no greater joy than to hear my that children walk in truth.”

 It can be extremely frustrating to have legitimate challenges of mental health that “regular “ people either don’t understand or refuse to acknowledge. If I know you have diabetes, I am not going to give you a pound of sugar for Christmas. I know I can’t function well without sleep. It can cause a whole list of out of character things for me as well as put me at risk for mania. I am now seeing this may also mean taking my tiny list of friends and making it even smaller. I want to be healthy so I have to surround myself with people who support that. I can’t waist anymore time trying to prove it’s really a thing. It’s sad and I wish it wasn’t so hard. From a spiritual aspect, if there’s any little trace of unforgiveness in my heart towards someone, it will come bouncing out the minute I am overtired. The truth is that we are all works in progress, but maybe we all need to give each other more grace. I haven’t found my people yet. I still trust God has a purpose. 

 After surviving years of emotional abuse it has taken just as many years to heal. I thought since the Bible says,” each esteem others greater than himself,” I couldn’t see myself as worth anything. Like it was selfish to like myself, or value myself in any way. Praise the Lord those lies are not in charge of me. I saw this and bought it to remind myself. I know Jesus would have gone to the cross for me if I was the only sinner. He would stop everything to look for that one sheep that was missing even though 99 were found. I know not everyone will understand. There’s a chorus we used to sing years ago…🎵He’s able, He’s able, I know He’s able. I know my Lord is able to carry me through. (2x) He healed the broken hearted and He set the  captive free. He made the lame to walk again and he caused the blind to see. He’s able, He’s able, I know He’s able. I know my Lord is able to carry me through.”🎵

 It’s been another rough month. I keep getting blockages in my colon which cause my stomach to swell up and then my clothes barely fit. Ate a bunch of fruits and veggies last week, but that didn’t stop the symptoms from coming.  I feel trapped in a broken body, and I truly don’t know the solution. I have tried many things. I am praying and I have been prayed over. I guess there’s a reason I don’t understand. Sometimes a little suffering helps me understand others better. The hardest part isn’t the embarrassing stomach, but not being able to talk about it. Because it sounds too complainie. But I don’t feel like I have anyone to talk to about anything right now. You could remind me that it’s probably my fault because I exploded toxicity all over the place. That may be true. I am trying so hard NOT to do that, but to be honest and authenticly myself and see everyone else’s needs first. That’s a lot. I do one and there’s no room for the other. I want to pay attention to everyone e...