Day Three – My Story: Part 3 

Romans 8:28 – And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

Welcome back friends. Let’s return to the final part of my story. 

Plot Twist

After assessing how I was presenting in hospital over the course of 2 weeks, my psychiatrist came back with a new diagnosis: Bipolar Affective Disorder. 

I was given a new medication (one that caused me to gain 4 stone that I have not yet been able to fully lose) and sent on my way to slowly rehabilitate and rejoin society. All was well…for a while.  

Fast forward to 2018. I went through a season of feeling like God was leading me towards counselling, to unpack and unpick some of the experiences I had had in the years growing up into adulthood. This was all going well, and God was revealing a lot of memories which my skilled counsellor was able to manoeuvre into healing moments. 

It was suggested that my Bipolar diagnosis was nothing more than childhood trauma that – after a solid season of counselling – would heal and leave me much more balanced and whole and no longer in need of medication. 

I took the suggestion seriously and went to my doctor explaining that I was in a very good place socially, mentally, emotionally and in every sense of the word and that now might be a good time to attempt to wean off of my medication. (In all honesty, I was hoping that this would also mean I could wave goodbye to the extra 4 stone that I had gained). 

The doctor took my pitch seriously and agreed that this was something that could be attempted. I was given a 4–5-month plan for weaning down and off of my medication and sent on my way again. 

Walking It Through

Sadly, come summer 2019 I had slid into another cycle of hyper behaviour mixed with bouts of deep depression. I was admitted to a different psychiatric ward and treated, this time for a month, for Bipolar.  

I tell you all this story, friends, to let you know that my journey to health has neither been easy nor straightforward, but it has been worth it. I am now able to testify on as many platforms as the Lord gives me that He has set my feet on solid ground. He has also enabled me to balance the correct medication for my condition with the understanding that I will likely need this medication for the rest of my life if I want to remain healthy in my mind. 

Illness of any kind is a high price to pay, and I do not recommend that anyone take lightly a doctor’s diagnosis nor their subsequent advice to medicate. Doctors, Nurses and the medical system are God-given and there to support us when we find ourselves at less than peak health.  

Step By Step

Just because you are a follower of Jesus, it does not mean that you need to abandon all other forms of help and assistance. Use the Doctor’s advice. Take their recommended medicine if that is what has been advised. Live informed and healthy.  

If you are a follower of Jesus, know that He will always lead you step by step and will not leave you alone in your illness. If you commit to seeking out professional, spiritual and wise counsel, God will direct your steps to health. 

He is that good.  

Tomorrow we will start digging into scripture and the ways that being a follower of Jesus can collide with the mental health conversation.