Category: BipolarBrave

  • My Stays In The Juvenile and Adult Psych Wards

    My Stays In The Juvenile and Adult Psych Wards

    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

    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

    “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

    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

    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

    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

    “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

    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”

    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)

    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…