Spectrum of various Experiences, Treatment and Coping Means helpful for Bipolar Disorder (manic-depressive illness)

In my first Mission 4 Monday post yesterday, I republished an excerpt "Trust during rough times" from my friend, Marja's book "A Firm Place to Stand."

I am thankful to my friends who took time to stop by, read my post and share your thoughts. One of my readers, Rob, wrote a comment which I would like to share in this post. Rob has bipolar disorder. Thankfully his condition is stable and he is able to go off medication now.

Bipolar Disorder or previously known as manic-depressive illness is a mood disorder with extreme mood swings ie. manic/hypomanic and depression.

Rob wrote on 2nd September 2008,

Hi Nancie,

Let me share a very weird, but also very interesting and I hope illuminating experience I had recently. In a way, although I am not a believer (nor a 100% complete disbeliever), this anecdote will, I hope, be interesting to you and your regular readers, and will be supportive of your theme today.

It has now been almost 2 years since I began reducing lithium, and more than a year and a half since I stopped it completely. I'm proud that I am totally drug-free for the first time in my adult life, but I am also very aware that my good fortune could end at any time. Anyway, I had a physical exam (after more than 2 years), and then a week or so later, I had a visit to my psychiatrist, for the very first time since stopping all drugs. I really like my psychiatrist, and I do not fault him on any decision he (and I) made over the years. I went there hoping to perhaps thank him for his efforts, and to show him that I'd had a clean physical checkup and was feeling "great" (no, not *that* great :-)). My family doctor sent my report to my psychiatrist. I like the fact that they work closely together, and they share information about me. All the minor complaints I'd had seemed to have pretty much disappeared, though there is much more than just a lack of lithium to credit for that.
My family doctor is cynical about psychiatry, and has always wondered why I was clinging to lithium, in spite of all my minor physical complaints, that seemed to just be getting worse as I aged.

Anyway, I entered my psychiatrist's interview room (after waiting one hour). I felt a bit sorry for him because he is now aged 72, and has not retired yet. I wanted to say something to the effect of "thanks for your efforts over the years". He first apologized for making me wait, and I said "oh it's nothing" or something like that. Then, to my total surprise, he acted like no other time in my entire 30 year history with him. Rather than having our usual calm, peaceful, friendly discussion, with him saying not too much, but encouraging me to speak my mind, it was the TOTAL OPPOSITE! I didn't know what to make of it. He was acting extremely hypomanic, while I was trying to stick to my agenda, of asking a few practical tips regarding sleeping, new drugs I might possibly take, etc. in the future etc. He wouldn't shut up. Even when he opened the door of the office to show me out (after 15 minutes), he kept talking and talking, even with other people listening! He made no mention of lithium, and no mention of when I might see him again. I finally managed to squeeze in "I guess I might pop in to see you again in a year or so", to which he didn't answer. He kept on talking about trivial stuff like tennis hurting knee joints or some such nonsense. He was also suggesting that "Oh, I guess you know everything now, and don't need your family doctor or me", to which I replied, "no, not at all". My wife was in the waiting room, and I said he could talk to her if he wanted, but he said he wasn't interested. Finally my wife and I left, both of us scratching our heads...

I later thought, Oh, I get it. He was just doing his job as my doctor. He's not really my friend. He was pulling out all the stops to try to destabilize me and "prove" that I was actually manic, and he was obviously failing to do so, so the end result was to make me somewhat more confident. Good. I feel better... But, I don't completely accept that theory either. A more cynical theory would say:
1. He is worried about a malpractice lawsuit
2. He is going to lose income without me
3. He is embarassed that he finally "lost" the argument with my family doctor
4. He worries that he might retire "in shame" at having kept someone on drugs needlessly, for almost their entire adult life
5. Just before seeing me, I think he took someone else who seemed to be in bad condition, and perhaps that rattled his nerves (I think he may have actually bumped me, in favor of that other person, who my wife later told me, looked quite sick.
6. I partly went to him because I tried to get a prescription for Stelazine filled (as a safety precaution) and it got held up at the pharmacy, because he happened to be on vacation. I then checked if my family doctor could fix that for me. I also then took some Stelazine, with my wife's knowledge, because I'd had some poor sleep recently, and I wanted to verify if I could count on Stelazine to fix that (minor) sleeping issue that had dragged on for a few days, for various reasons
7. Who knows what? Your guess is as good as mine. It just doesn't completely make sense. I still like the guy, but I wanted to share this with other sufferers of mental disorders.

By the way, I'm beginning to seriously believe that peaceful meditation actually works better for me than Stelazine, and has *zero side-effects!*

This is something you might want to consider (briefly), when you decide where to put your "faith".

Thanks for listening -- a slightly puzzled, but still doing OK Rob

I am thankful to Rob for writing in to share his experiences and thoughts with me and my readers. I am thankful that Rob makes time to come by every now and then, and I greatly value his friendship.

As I do have my own personal experiences and opinions pertaining to what Rob has shared, I have decided to write a separate post in answer to Rob. So here's my response to Rob:

Hi Rob,

Thank you for your 2 comments! I delayed in publishing your first comment because I needed time to digest what you wrote and also to think of an appropriate response :-) Thanks for writing again. I have decided to publish your first comment here as a separate post so that I can response and share my personal experiences and opinions too.

Your recent experience with your psychiatrist is truly rather weird :-) I am thankful that you are able to be medicine free and I hope you continue to stay stable!

In my personal opinion, I think there is actually a rather wide spectrum of experiences for those who suffer from bipolar disorder and therefore a wide spectrum of wellness or coping means that suits different individuals.

In my own personal experiences, I have found that Finding a Good Doctor/Psychiatrist is very crucial for me. I am thankful that God has provided a very good and helpful psychiatrist for me. I am newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder last March and still very new on the journey of understanding and managing bipolar disorder. My Doctor's help has been invaluable in my recovery journey!

I have come across several very different experiences among my fellow bloggers.

I know of people who are being helped my medication just like myself. Our mood-stabilisers helped to stabilise our moods in longer run. Some of us are on anti-psychotic medications which helps to manage our manic/hypomanic and sometimes we need anti-depressants to lift us up to a functional level when we have a relapse of depression. So medication does help some of us to be more functional. It would be wonderful to be so stable and functional one day that some of us can be off medication eventually! But that is a case by case basis.

Some of us may have to be on life-long maintenance medication for the sake of stabilising our mood. Medication however is only a part of our treatment and recovery plan. Medicine helps to lift us up to a functional level when we are depressed or helps to calm us down to a functional level when we are too manic, but we also needs to live a balance lifestyle that will contribute to our mental stability and physical as well as spiritual well-being. We need to know what may trigger off relapses, how to recognize early symptoms and what we can do to get better or prevent our conditions from deteriorating. Depending on our makeup and our bipolar condition, what works for us may differ one from another.

I have also known of others who are medicine resistant and who suffer more side effects than benefits from their medications. These have suffered much throughout the years due to unsuitable medications. Some have found help now through alternative medicine or therapy. There are some who have learned to manage their condition so well that they do not need medication at all. Perhaps their condition are also milder than some others. I also have some friends who benefited from ECT treatments when nothing else is helpful and their sufferings were relentless. Thank God for providing something that helps these friends. But again ECT may not be suitable for everyone. I think it is a case by case basis. It may take time to find out our own conditions and what is best to help us maintain stability and enable us to be functional and of maximum benefit to our family and society.

I have shared about some of My Coping Strategies in my previous posts. Personally, I benefitted from Medical Help and Medications. Anti-depressant medication helps to lift me up to a functional level when I am depressed and anti-psychotic medication helps to calm me down to a functional level when I am too manic/hypomanic.

I am learning to use Mood Diary to track my moods and learn to recognize early symptoms of possible relapses or impending relapses or worsening symptoms. I work closely with my psychiatrist on how best to troubleshoot and manage my condition. I hope to share more about this in future post.

I have found that getting enough sleep and sleeping at regular hours is very crucial. Insufficient sleep can cause my relapses or may be symptoms that I am going through relapses.

For some months last year I benefited from several counseling sessions with a lady Christian counselor who uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT) to help me identify and correct some faulty thinking patterns. I do have some faulty thinking patterns that can either trigger off my relapses or worsened my condition. In particular I learn to understand some of the myths and facts on mental illness so that I have a more realistic view of my condition. Learning to coping with false guilt during depression is also very crucial to me as there is still such a terrible stigma associated with mental illness even among Christians.

I also found reducing stress and learning to manage stress to be very crucial in my own management of my condition. From past experiences, I am discovering that mismanagement of stress or excessive stress will trigger off my relapses. So I am now prayerfully learning to recognize signs that I am getting stressed up or overly stress, and how best to reduce it to a level I can manage. I learn to pray and commit things to God, and seek His wisdom to manage the various challenges in my life. I also learn to share with my family and friends when I am troubled, stressed or perplexed. In the multitude of counselors there is safety (proverbs)! I find brain-storming and discussing with family and friends helped me to see things from a better perspective and learn to manage the various challenges in my life better.

I am also aware that one of the great source of stress I often experience actually comes from myself! I am some kind of a perfectionist. So in some ways my expectation of myself and others can at times be rather high and unrealistic. The problem is I am not always conscious of this. But this can cause much stress and harm to me in my own life as well as my relationships with others or my works. So I am learning now to be more aware of my unrealistic expectations of myself, of others or of the world in general. I am learning to be kinder to myself :-) and to others :-)

In other words, I am learning to me more aware of my limitations! The problem with bipolar disorder is that whenever I am well, I am a little hypomanic. So I have more energy, more creativity and tend to want to do more things. I tend to take on more projects that I can manage without realizing it. I also tend to want to help as many people as possible without realizing that I am over-stretching myself and trying to do too much! That is why I often suffer burn-out and then clinical depression. The tricky thing for me now is to learn how to estimate how much I can do or I should do. There seemed to be 101 things that I think I should do or I can do! But in reality this is not the case :-) So I am still learning now to pace myself more moderately and prayerfully.

Personally I do not practice meditation. I have a friend whose sister is bipolar and found it put her in a dissociative state whenever she practiced meditation.

For me meditating on God's Words help me. My quiet times in the mornings and evenings are most precious to me. I am learning to pray and commit each day unto God. I spend the time in prayer, reading of the Bible, singing of Psalms and journalling. I find that writing down my thoughts and experiences help me to see things from a more realistic perspective. Prayers help me to unburden and cast my cares on God. As I pray and commit all things to God, I find peace in knowing that He will guide me in the paths He wants me to go. Though God may not always answer my prayers according to my desires, I am learning to submit to His will which is always the best, because He is sovereign, mighty and all-knowing, and He loves me. I find much comfort, direction and encouragements from God's Words daily. I learn to wait upon God to speak to me through His Words and providence, and He is faithful to answer my prayers daily. Filling my mind with the Word of God and meditating on these precious Truths gives me peace, comforts and directions. God's Words strengthens me and help me to cope with various challenges in my life in association with bipolar as well as other aspects of my life. For me this works very well. And this quiet time becomes a very important recovery tool as well as in my management of my condition.

I found that one good way of reducing stress is to be more organized. I have the tendency to want to do too many things at one time. Now I find that if I list down the things I need to do and plan on how to break them down into manageable tasks, I can cut down on stress and get more things done. So now I use a Diary to plan my days.

I have also found exercise to be very crucial to me in my recovery process. I read that the good chemicals that are released during exercise helps with depression. Personally, I enjoy Brisk Walking and have found that it helps to strengthen my body and mind. I feel very refreshed after my exercise and my mood is lifted up. But I understand that not everyone is able to participate in exercise. We need to assess our health and our medical conditions. It is good to consult a physician first if we are unsure. This is to prevent unnecessary injuries and harm due to inappropriate exercises.

I am learning that relaxation and recreations are important to me in my management of bipolar disorder. I also have several therapeutic hobbies which I enjoy very much and helped me to relax. I derive much joy and satisfaction in Photography, Making Bookmarks, making homemade Calendar and Blogging.

I am learning to eat more healthy meals and I also benefit from Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements.

I realize through this illness, the importance of having the support and prayers of my family and friends, besides professional helps from Doctors, Counsellors and Support Group. The people I love, and who love me, will see me at my best. When my symptoms reappear, they may see me at my worst.

Whenever possible, I will share with them my illness. I give them articles, pamphlets and books to read about bipolar disorder so that they will understand that my behaviour is not always under my control. It will also help them to understand why I am sometimes so different.

For me, I have found blogging to be therapeutic to me and is an important tools in my recovery. It has been a joy and privilege for me to be acquainted with many blogging friends who are suffering from depression, bipolar and other physical or mental conditions. To be able to share and support one another as we seek to learn to understand and manage our conditions has a great impact upon my life. I felt I have grown much over the last half year of blogging through my acquaintance with such dear friends and learning from various people's experiences. I am learning to understand my condition better and to manage it better. Ever since I joined Word-Filled Wednesday(WFW) and Thankful Thursday (TT), God has helped me to grow spiritually. I am greatly blessed by the many encouraging posts many friends shared on WFW and TT. And now that I newly joined Mission 4 Monday I am also greatly blessed and encouraged. I am so thankful that I can get to know you and so many others through blogging! But I am learning to pace myself moderately as I tend to get carried away with blogging as I enjoyed it so much and I can over strain myself unknowingly :-)

I am thankful to God that in this generation there are many resources and helps available to cope with depression, bipolar and other health conditions. I am still learning and discovering what is helpful for myself and how best to manage my condition. I am thankful to God that I can share helpful resources with my readers on this blog as I journey on.

As there is a wide spectrum to the experiences as well as treatment of bipolar disorder, I do not recommend my own coping strategies as the best for everyone. I think it is a case by case basis. I believe many of my coping strategies are those being used by many people and it is helping them. But others might not find them useful. I think we each need to take time to understand our condition and what is most helpful to keep us stable and functional. Most of us will need our physician's help or therapies or counselors help in understanding and managing our conditions.

For me personally, ultimately my faith is not in myself, anyone or anything, but in God and my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Who can restore me using various means or without means. I have survived some 10 or more severe clinical depressive episodes over the last 20 years without medication because I didn't know that it is a medical condition. I realized that without medication I can still recover from clinical depression but with medication my sufferings have been lessened as well as shortened. Without medications, I used to endure at least 3 to 6 months of clinical depression or sometimes longer. Those were very difficult, painful and confusing time. Thank God for preserving and restoring me in those years. Now I am thankful that I am more functional and able to live a more productive life with medical and various other helps. Knowing that my depression is clinical and not due to weakness of my character or lack of faith in God, helps me to banish false guilt and seek medical and other helps. As my depression episodes have become more and more frequent and more and more severe in these recent years with terrible temptation of death, I appreciate the way medication and other helps are helping me. I know there are side-effects with any medication but I have prayed and weighed the matter. It is better for me at this point of time to bear whatever side-effects of medication so that I can be more functional rather than to risk dying from suicide during severe depression relapses. And besides medication, I prayerfully use as many of my other Coping Strategies as possible so that my medication is kept as minimum as necessary.

Thanks again for writing, Rob. I hope your condition continue to remain stable and you can continue to find wellness activities that helps you! You and your wife are in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and keep in touch.

With appreciation,
Nancie

And thanks, friends and visitors, for stopping by. Do share your thoughts and opinions with me by leaving a comment, if you can. I will greatly appreciate it!

Take care and have a blessed day!

Please pray for Emily

My friend, Peggy, has just started a new meme on Monday called "Mission 4 Monday".

The purpose of MISSION 4 MONDAY is to share YOUR MISSION each week.

I am so thankful that I can participate in Mission 4 Monday. I posted my first Mission 4 Monday yesterday entitled "Trust during rough times".

While visiting Mission 4 Monday blogs, I came across Liza's Eyeview. Liza shared about her friend Emily who was hit by car last Wednesday afternoon. She was in a crosswalk, almost on the sidewalk, when a car suddenly struck her causing her to "fly" 40 to 45 feet unconscious and land on a curb!Emily suffered multiple fractures. When she first arrived at the emergency room, the initial prognosis was dim. Her case was called "severe".

I would like to request that we keep Emily and her family in prayers during this trying time. May our gracious Lord Jesus Christ preserve and restore Emily according to His mercies and grace. May He grant the Doctors and other medical professionals much wisdom to treat Emily. May our good Lord also comfort Emily's family and friends as they commit her to Him and look to Him together for Emily's preservation and restoration. God knows what is best for Emily. He is working all things for His glory, her good and the good of His beloved people even in such a time as this. May we unite our hearts in prayers and bring this family before our Heavenly Father's throne of grace as often as we can.

Liza has kindly developed a new blog for Emily called Praying For Emily". Do visit this blog for latest update and send your encouragements to this family, if you can. They need as much support as possible in this crucial time. May God continue to shower His love, mercies and comfort upon Emily, her family and friends.

Thank God for the privilege that we can pray for one another through all the changing scenes in life, knowing that God loves us and He will work His best for us. With God all things are possible. He is able to heal and restore us, or give us sufficient grace to sustain us in the afflictions and trials in life. May His will be done as we are fully assured that His will is always the best.

Thank you for praying for Emily and her family and friends!

Thanks for dropping by. Take care and have a blessed day!

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

Mission 4 Monday : Trust during rough times - A Firm Place to Stand by Marja Bergen

My friend, Peggy, has just started a new meme on Monday called "Mission 4 Monday".

The purpose of MISSION 4 MONDAY is to share YOUR MISSION each week.


I am so thankful that I can participate in Mission 4 Monday.

It is helping me to reflect anew on the mission of this blog.

When I first started this blog, my purpose was to share with others God's goodness and mercies to me in managing clinical depression and bipolar disorder. I also wanted to share with others coping resources that I have found useful. I am thankful to God for bringing me into contact with many of you, my wonderful friends, and we can mutually encourage one another in our management of clinical depression, bipolar disorder and other illness.

As times go by, God brought me into contact with many of you who are very encouraging friends at Word-Filled Wednesday and Thankful Thursday. I got to know Word-Filled Wednesday through Michelle of Ozarks sew n' sew. Thanks Michelle! And from there on I read about Thankful Thursday. Word-Filled Wednesday and Thankful Thursday. has helped me to grow spiritually.

As I reflect on the Mission the Lord has given me in my life and through this blog, I thought of the following:

1) To glorify God through the testimony of His love, goodness and mercies to me.
2) To share with others resources I have found useful in managing clinical depression, bipolar disorder and other illness.
3) To share my passion in photography and God's Words with others through Word-Filled Wednesday.
4) To share God's goodness and mercies to me through all the changing scenes in life through Thankful Thursday. May God help me to cultivate a thankful heart and find reasons to rejoice in the Lord daily and to praise Him for His unchanging and everlasting love, unfailing mercies and sufficient grace.

We face many challenges in our life, whether it be in terms of illness, family, relationships, work, etc etc. It is a great comfort to remember that God is with us and He will see us safely through. No matter what God allows us to go through in this life, He is able to work something good out of it for our benefit, for His glory and the good of His people (Romans 8:28). And we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loved us (Romans 8:37)!

For this reason, I found much joy and comfort in the Lord, in my daily walk. My struggles to manage clinical depression and bipolar disorder, has drawn me closer to God as I experience His love and goodness in many wonderful ways daily. God's Words comfort and strengthen me. I know God loves me and He is with me. I saw Him working very wonderfully in my life and in others life.

I am thankful to God that I can serve Him through this blog. It is my prayers that God may use this blog to glorify Himself, help other Christians to grow in Him and lead others to seek and know His saving grace and love.

For this first Mission 4 Monday post, I like to share with you a very encouraging article from a book my friend, Marja, just published. This article is very helpful in encouraging us how we can trust in God in very rough times, whether it be a time of illness or other afflictions and trials.

My friend, Marja Bergen, has just launched a new book entitled "A Firm Place to Stand" on how God has enabled her to find meaning in her life with bipolar disorder.

Marja is from British Columbia, Canada. She is a person with bipolar disorder and a faith in Jesus Christ. Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a mood disorder with extreme mood swings ie. mania and clinical depression.

Marja is interested in writing about mental health issues, especially encouraging a more understanding view by the church. In an effort to help her church give support to people with mood disorders, Marja has started a support group called "Living Room". Now she is encouraging groups to start up elsewhere. Marja has been a great blessing, encouragement and help to those who attend Living Room and those of us who read about her experiences there.

This new book "A Firm Place to Stand" is a very encouraging book as Marja shared about how God gives her grace and strength to live a meaningful and fruitful life as she seek to manage bipolar disorder. Her suffering has drawn her closer to God as she learn to look to Him and find comfort and help from Him. Her suffering also taught her compassion and it has helped her to help others coping with their pain.

In this book, Marja shared many of her own struggles and victory over the various issues associated with bipolar disorder. She shared her faith in God as well as her coping strategies.

I was reading this portion today and found much comfort and encouragement from it. I can identify with much of the sentiment expressed in this article. Like Marja, I am learning to trust in God especially in very rough times and I have experienced His love, mercies and faithfulness sustaining me time and again. This has strengthened my faith in God and given me courage to press on daily, living as meaningfully and as productively as God enables me.

The following excerpt entitled "Trust during rough times" has been published by canadianchristianity.com recently and Marja has kindly allowed me to reproduced it here to share with you.

Hope this excerpt will bring encouragement and hope to you too in your struggles, knowing that God loves you, He is with you and will see you through.

Trust during rough times
Excerpt taken from "A Firm Place to Stand" by Marja Bergen published by canadianchristianity.com
Republished here with kind permission of Marja Bergen

Depression can be a debilitating, torturous experience. During such times, I have to work hard to maintain my trust in God. I try not to be anxious but to relax and let God do his work in me and care for me. But it's difficult not to be afraid; it's natural to be afraid.

As my negative thinking takes over, I begin to doubt my ability to complete the projects I'm working on. I fear that friends no longer care about me and won't be there for me. I fear my depression will deepen and I might stop functioning altogether. I can't see how I could ever be cheerful again.

Fear is the universal response to suffering

Philip Yancey, in his book, Where is God When it Hurts? explains how fear is the universal response to suffering. And yet beyond a doubt it is also the single greatest enemy of recovery.' Fear is part of the extreme moods I go through, especially psychosis. The more I give in to fear, the worse my illness becomes. It is important to do all I can to escape it. The best way is to turn to God and trust in God. But it's hard.

David, the psalmist, fought similar battles. I need to pray along with him, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God, I trust; I will not be afraid." (Psalm 56:3-4)

Since the dramatic change in my life when I began to follow Christ, my faith in God has remained steadfast. No matter how bad things become, I know God is there. But belief in God and trusting God are two different things. Trusting means relying on someone, having confidence in God's power to help me. I cannot always do this. I have to work at it, over and over again. I have to remind myself to turn to God when things are bad. Even when it seems useless to do so, I need to read my Bible and pray.

A habit I developed a few years ago has stood me in good stead taking at least an hour of quiet time each morning. I start each day with Bible reading, prayer and journaling. These times do much to comfort and strengthen me, whether I'm excessively up or excessively down. Though my prayers are often awkward, though the words come slowly and with great effort, they help keep my focus on God. They help me stay close to God.

One of the symptoms of depression is a sense of hopelessness, the opposite of confidence. At times my trust has faded so severely I thought of giving up altogether. Yet my belief in God does not die, even when God feels distant. In my heart, I cry out, but I don't feel I'm reaching God. I struggle to find the patience I need. "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

And yet, there are times when I struggle emotionally and the reverse happens. God's Word becomes more powerful than it could possibly be during stable times. Bible verses help me find great peace and hope. At such times, I read "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28) and my entire being finds relief. I feel comforted. I know these words come from a loving God. These deep spiritual experiences sustain me during rough times; they provide memories I can go back to.

I will never forget the day my friend Helen came to me at a time I felt I couldn't go on. She impressed on me how much I had to live for. She told me she loved me. Whenever I need to remember how great God's love is, I think back to that occasion. Speaking to me through this caring friend, God became powerfully real to me. When I am waiting for depression to lift, I focus on how great God's love has proven to be, time after time.

I feel a kinship with King David who, in Psalm 40, wrote: "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry." Waiting patiently is the only thing I can do as I recover from extreme moods. Remembering that God loves me. Trusting.

Marja Bergen lives with bipolar disorder and is the author of Riding the Roller Coaster (Northstone, 1999). The above is an excerpt from her new released book, A Firm Place to Stand: Finding Meaning in a Life with Bipolar Disorder. She is a facilitator and founder of the Christian mood disorders support group, Living Room (www.livingroomsupport.org). She can be contacted at marja@livingroomsupport.org.

Marja's blog is at marjabergen.blogspot.com and she can be reached at marja@livingroomsupport.org for more information or to speak to your group.



A Firm Place to Stand by Marja Bergen : Finding meaning in a life with Bipolar Disorder

"A Firm Place to Stand is a must-read for Christians who struggle with mental health challenges and the faith communities who minister to them.

For too long, society has misunderstood and feared individuals who live with mood disorders. This book dispels the lingering stigma attached to mental health conditions and encourages people to lovingly welcome the sufferers into congregations by understanding them better and supporting them in practical ways.

Most importantly, for the sufferers themselves, A Firm Place to Stand shows that it is possible to have a mental disorder yet be close to God and derive strong support from a growing relationship with Christ.

In her sincere and candid style, Marja Bergen reflects on her forty-two years with bipolar disorder, showing how faith in God can help a person with a serious illness turn weakness into strength. She describes how God transformed her from an insecure, withdrawn person into a leader, an activist, and the founder of Living Room, the growing Christian support group for people with mood disorders."

Find out more on how you can purchase this excellent book from Marja's new website.

Hope the above article has encouraged you. Do visit Marja's blog, if you can, and get to know her. You will be greatly encouraged by her. Drop her a note, if you can, to let her know how this article has encouraged or helped you. She will be encouraged to know that :)

Thanks again for stopping by! Thanks for all your prayers and encouragements!

Take care and God bless :)

For more Mission 4 Monday posts, visit Peggy at MAZES, MESSES, MIRACLES...aMAZING GRACE. It will be a very encouraging experience for you!

And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God,
to them who are the called according to His purpose
... in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us.
(Romans 8:28, 37)

Books

1. A Firm Place to Stand by Marja Bergen

2. A practical workbook for the depressed Christian by Dr John Lockley

3. An unquiet mind by Dr Kay Redfield Jamison

4. Broken Mind by Steve and Robyn Bloem

5. I'm Not Supposed to Feel Like This by Chris Williams, Paul Richards and Ingrid Whitton

Excerpts from Books

1. Trust during rough times (Excerpt from "A Firm Place to Stand" by Marja Bergen)

2. Finding meaning in a life with bipolar disorder (Excerpt from Marja Bergen's article on canadianchristianity.com)

3. An illness like any other (Excerpt from "Roller Coaster" by Marja Bergen)

Thankful Thursday : Because He lives, we can face tomorrow

Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks for your prayers and encouragements.

♥ I am thankful to God for strengthening me and restoring me from my recent relapse of clinical depression. Around May recently, I over strained myself due to work, blogging, church, family and other commitments. By the time I realized it I was heading towards a burnout. Though I attempted to slow down, I still slipped into clinical depression. Thank God for preserving and restoring me. I am feeling so much better now and will continue to look to our Lord. Thank you for your prayers and encouragements!

♥ With this health condition, the future can at times seem very uncertain and fearful with possible relapses of clinical depression and all the pain and difficulties associated with it. I am thankful to God for the comfort and assurance in His Words of His presence with us, His love for us and His sufficient grace no matter what we may go through in this imperfect world. We have the hope of one day being with the Lord where there will be no more tears, illness and suffering. Meanwhile, He is with us. He loves us and will give us grace sufficient for each day.

♥ I am thankful to God that my illness has drawn me closer to God, to know more and more of His love and mercies, and to be more dependent upon Him. The Lord fills my heart daily with His love and joy so that I can rejoice in Him and find contentment in Him despite my condition.

♥ I am thankful to our Lord Jesus Christ for giving me grace and courage to press on daily because He Lives! I am comforted that in the Bible, God tells us that Christ is risen and He is living today and interceding for us. His Spirit lives in us and will give us grace to live for Him until He calls us home. We are never alone!

♥ I am thankful to God for providing precious people in my life ie. my family, church, friends and blogging friends who love and care for me in their very wonderful ways. These are tokens of God's love for me and I treasure very much.

♥ I am thankful to God once again for all of you, my dear blogging friends and visitors. I have been so greatly blessed by all of you and I thank God upon every remembrance of you. It is wonderful to read of how God is guiding and blessing you in your walk with our Lord and it encourages me in my walk with God too. Thanks again for your prayers and encouragements.


I saw these videos on YouTube for this encouraging hymn "Because He Lives" and it strengthens my heart to remember anew that we served a Risen Savior Who loves us and is in control of all things. Therefore I can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, in God's strength and grace, because God holds the future and that makes life worth living.

Christianity Today has a touching account of how this Song was written by Bill and Gloria Gaither during a very traumatic time in their life in the early 1970s while expecting their third child. The timing for another baby wasn't ideal due to various reasons and the thought of bringing another child into the world was taking its toll. But God ministered grace to them and Christ's resurrection, in all its power, was reaffirmed in their hearts. They were assured that the future, left in God's hands, would be just fine.

In July 1970 a healthy baby, Benjamin, was born. Inspired by the miracle of their son's birth, "Because He Lives" poured out of the Gaithers' grateful hearts. The song clearly affirms the hope believers have in Christ. We can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, as we realize that God holds the future and makes life worth living.

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!

Chorus: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to vict'ry,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!

This video "Because He Lives" By The Gaither Vocal Band is posted by hoover4000 on YouTube. The 2nd stanza was first written together with the chorus, 3rd and 1st stanza added subsequently:



This video "Because He Lives" By The Gaither Trio 1972 is posted by hoover4000 (with Gloria explaining the circumstances surrounding the time she wrote the words to "because he lives" and then the gaither trio sings it (from 1972)) (This is very touching. Must see!)



May the wonderful reminder that we serve a Risen Savior, affirms the hope we have in Christ. We can face tomorrow, with all its uncertainty, as we realize that God holds the future and that makes life worth living!

May you continue to know God's love and sufficient grace in very special ways today and everyday!

How about you? How has the Lord blessed you through the past week?

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a blessed and thankful day!

For more participants of Thankful Thursday, do visit Iris at Sting My Heart. It will be a very blessed and spiritually uplifting experience for you!

Word-Filled Wednesday : I have loved you with an everlasting love

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
Jeremiah 31:3

Nothing is more powerful to engage our affection than to find that we are beloved! Expression of kindness and love are usually pleasing and acceptable unto us irrespective of who expresses it to us.

But to have the love of One Who is altogether lovely, to know that the glorious Majesty of heaven hath any regard unto us, how must this astonish and delight us, how must it overcome our spirits and melt our hearts, and put our whole soul into a flame!

Thank God for His everlasting and immeasurable love for us! It will take me a lifetime to try and comprehend it, and even then I may not fully understand it!

May you continue to know God's everlasting love and goodness in many wonderful ways daily :)

For more Word-Filled Wednesday participants, do visit Amy at The 160 Acre Woods. It will be a very blessed and encouraging experience for you.

Thank you for stopping by. Thanks for your prayers and encouragements. Hope you have a blessed day!

(I took this picture at a Flower exhibition in Singapore)