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Medication Helps
Lithium, for my family, has been effective. Lithium evened out the wild roller coaster ride by calming the manic highs, and edging out the slumping lows of depression. Lithium (and other medications) are helpful to interrupt the cycles of our brain’s malfunction. Meds allow the body-mind to rest, recuperate and heal. However, meds are not the total answer to healing from ‘dis-ease’.
Acknowledge the Situation
There are many factors that play into being, becoming, and coping with the “Bipolar” label. Being a consummate observer, seeker of knowledge, a bipolar participant, and now completely healed, I have definitive beliefs on this subject. My onset came after the birth of my second child. I had grown up immersed in the behaviors, the symptoms. I witnessed-absorbed the struggles in my Father. It affected our family deeply. I decided: Bipolar was NOT allowed to rule me, or govern my life.
Educate Yourself
I read books. Took genetic classes. Talked to my Psychiatrists. Yes, they were required to obtain my prescription meds. I was primed. Had all the classic textbook conditions: The DNA. Hormonal imbalances. Environmental stresses. All compounded at the same time, produced-triggered my brain-body to react. I took the meds to take my edge off. Was told I had a chemical imbalance that would require me to be on pills the rest of my life. The prevailing belief then–and now–for most illnesses is that pills are the lifelong answer to diseases. A be all-end all. I refuse to believe this.
Believe You Can Heal
From the get go I truly believed our bodies heal naturally given the right circumstances and environment. I told my initial, favorite Doctor that I did not believe I would be on pills the rest of my life. That one day I would heal away from using them. Dr. S was open minded, and believed the possibility of my claim, as he was a holistic healer. I am forever grateful for this man’s support at this pivotal point.
Change Your Environment
Fast forward 30 years. Divorced. Estranged. Ostracized. And, into a world I re-created far removed from my former life. Alone, but not lonely, as my family of animals stood beside me. I unwrapped years of dysfunction in my psyche. One by one, I dissected my entrenched beliefs. Dismantled every learned behavior. Examined recycling thought patterns. Wallowed in my emotional states. Purged and released much. Finally, I honored and embraced that my feelings, sadness, disillusionment, and grief were valid. And owned my participation in all that I allowed to break me.
Healing is a Choice
The day I bought my own home I asked it–made a pact with it: Do NOT let me leave until I am HEALED. PLEASE! At that time I took 10 pills a day just to cope aka remain sane. My body was racked with trauma, anxiety, and bipolar thought patterns. I knew I had work to do. Just did not know exactly how or what path to take. Yet in this space of solitude, I found my way back to health. Nine years later my house graduated me. It sold. I walked away more whole than ever in this life.
I no longer take any prescription pills. My clarity, intentions, thoughts are unwavering and solid strong. My beliefs more than ever have the conviction that every one of us can heal fully. We have the ability to decide. To do a self-examination. It’s a choice to evolve, or not. No excuses permitted.
Bipolar is a State of Mind
Bipolar thoughts can severely misalign our mind-body-spirit. This imbalance occurs because our mental and physical state of being is impaired on many levels. Pills should be used as a temporary relief. An interrupter in a cycle that needs deconstruction to rebuild. Medication should not be a lifetime crutch, nor a lifelong sentence. Largely because prescription drugs have other serious side effects and health repercussions.
Belief is Powerful
I am not super human. I am ordinary. No different than you. A lifetime of heartaches summoned me to shift my mental health consciousness. If you are reading this you are seeking answers. Open the door: Believe in yourself. Know you are worthy. Take the journey. Transcend your non-serving beliefs. And trust the many blessings on your path.
Books that offer perspective, guidance and support. (Covers are linked.)
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Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
No reprints or copying without permission of the author, Patty Ann.
Recalling family moments is for the nostalgic. Pictures are what push us to go back, way back to a simpler time. Where our happy moments of innocence are not yet lost. Photos encapsulate an era reserved only for the unsuspecting. Inside pages of a photo album awaits visual reminders and memories folded away somewhere inside time.