Category: BipolarBrave

  • My Stays In The Juvenile and Adult Psych Wards

    My Stays In The Juvenile and Adult Psych Wards

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    The Juvenile Psych Ward Life wasn’t so sweet to me at sixteen. It was rather sour, actually. I landed in a juvenile psych ward after switching antidepressants, while ignorant to the fact that I had bipolar disorder, causing me to enter psychosis without warning. I never knew such a place existed…

  • Update On My Memoir

    Update On My Memoir

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    It’s been fairly busy for me, between work and play. I received the edits on my memoir last Friday! I’ve been ecstatic to get them back from the editor because there’s so much good stuff he included. He put together a 6-page “author instructions” for how to read the edits…

  • Signs and Wonders: Severe Mental Illness and The Prosperity Gospel

    Signs and Wonders: Severe Mental Illness and The Prosperity Gospel

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    “God has already placed His healing power within us, and it is now under our authority. It isn’t up to God to determine who receives healing; it’s up to us!“ Ever hear something like that statement before?   What about: “It’s our failure to understand and use the authority we…

  • Lessons Learned Working With Mental Illness

    Lessons Learned Working With Mental Illness

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    Almost exactly a year ago I started a chapter in life that opened the door to the world of casework. I began my first professional job as a caseworker for a non-profit behavioral health agency. I have learned some powerful lessons over the past year and I wanted to share…

  • 5 Go-To Resources For Christians with Mental Illness

    5 Go-To Resources For Christians with Mental Illness

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    Good resources for Christians with mental illness are few and far between. For many, mental health conditions are unmanageable through prayer and Bible verses alone. Symptoms of a mood disorder may keep you from functioning effectively during the day. There is still reluctance in the church to seek out professional…

  • Missing The Mark: When Finding The Right Diagnosis and Medication Isn’t The Answer

    Missing The Mark: When Finding The Right Diagnosis and Medication Isn’t The Answer

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    True Healing Is Wholistic Ultimately, our brains are just another organ and cannot be transformed simply by adding a certain medication. No, we’re much more complex beings than that. We are made up of mind, body, heart and soul. The mind is chemically-based and cognitively-functioning, processing information and the physical…

  • What Most People Misunderstand About Mental Illness

    What Most People Misunderstand About Mental Illness

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    “Popular” to Have Mental Illness? When I tell someone upon initially meeting them that I’m bipolar, and they jump to identify themselves as bipolar as well, I take it with a grain of salt. This is not to say they aren’t bipolar, they very well could be. But most people…

  • 10 Reasons Why You Should Invest In Your Mental Health

    10 Reasons Why You Should Invest In Your Mental Health

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    The benefits of taking care of our minds may seem inherent to taking care of your overall health, but there is still a resistance to taking the steps to improved mental care. Allow me to review ten sound reasons why you should invest the time, energy and resources into your…

  • Brandon Appelhans Guest Posts: “Identity & Mental Health”

    Brandon Appelhans Guest Posts: “Identity & Mental Health”

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    Brandon reached out to me recently and is a mutual friend of Pastor Brad Hoefs. After researching his website, MyQuietCave.org, I invited Brandon to guest post for us here at BipolarBrave.com. I hope his story is encouraging to you and reminds you where your true identity comes from.  Yesterday I…

  • Psychotherapy vs. Christianity: The Case for True Transformation (Part II)

    Psychotherapy vs. Christianity: The Case for True Transformation (Part II)

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    A Matter of The Heart In the former half of my argument, I explored the definition of moral relativity and how the admission and recognition of Truth is necessary for authentic and good life-giving change and transformation. In this post, I explore the case for the heart being untrustworthy and…