Spiritual teachings and healthy living can have a strong positive affect on mental illness. The labeling of bipolar and other terms like it is abused and overdone and instigates the “mentally ill mentality,” of believing everything one reads and hears. “You will do this. You will feel that. When you do, take more pills.” It is a cycle that keeps true healing out and profits for drug companies in. Where is the growth in this unending cycle? How do people begin to heal and change when they are constantly told how sick they are and what new medication they should be taking. We need a much larger definition for mental illness as well as open discussion of the reasons it manifests differently in people and why they become trapped in it without real change. Too many doctors want to have a person visit for thirty minutes and then label them as BIPOLAR1 and break out the Lamitcal. Drugs like that can have pretty serious side effects like skin rash and weight gain.
I went to a bipolar support group and honestly, the people were so doped up on meds they could hardly keep their eyes open during the meeting, let alone form an intelligent thought to share. It frustrated me as everyone went around the group making comments that gave more and more power to bipolar and emotions – as if they both were some demon that was waiting to plague their lives. I tried to share in the group how applying Eckhart Tolle’s teachings and changing my PERCEPTION has helped me to recognize emotions for what they are and arent, as well as calm down from my usual mania. I have learned how to come out of myself and see my connection to other people and the world, not just a whirlwind of emotions flying through my mind. The group conversation always went back to a new medicine or how horrible everything is because we have bipolar and the world “doesn’t understand.” Some of the group had that look in their eyes like they had given up long ago. They talked about themselves as if having bipolar was their identity, and not in a good way – as if they were a victim, fighting this terrible beast.
I’m not disputing that mental illness is real. I know it is real. But we have much more power and choices that we realize. Just to wake up one day and say to yourself, “I am going to send love out today to people I come in contact with” can have an amazing effect on your entire day. You may feel fear or isolation initially, but keep doing it anyway and you may be shocked at the results. Try feeling connected and see yourself as a part of all this crazy, wonderful beauty around us. You may call it Buddhism, Christianity, or Taoism if you like. The love and truth in all of them can begin to set y0u free. If you don’t believe in God, I hope you can try to believe in love. These words I write – mental illness, God, love, change, hope, are all ones that need to be redefined and expanded through our progress and discovery.
