My History with Bipolar

I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was 19 years old.  Several other members of my family are bipolar as well.  I choose not to take medication and to live with the symptoms instead.

“Bipolar Depression may be described as a condition in which people go back and forth between periods of a very good or irritable mood and depression. The “mood swings” between mania and depression can be very quick.” https://www.citrialsbipolardepression.com/

Under regular circumstances I would say my mood swings were not too severe.  I had some delusions of grandeur, but not too bad.  I was still a functional member of society, able to attend college, and work.  However, once I started having children the stress of family life aggravated the mood swings.  My manic phases were often marked by irritability instead of happiness.  At church and in public I was usually very happy I was normally having a good time away from home and free from my normal stressors.

The manic and depression phases would switch quickly; even several times within a day.  Some days I would work very hard and accomplish a lot.  Other days I was depressed and didn’t feel like even taking a shower.  At times I was so elated by my children and other moments I was filled with actual hate toward them.  When my irritability became more frequent and severe, I sought for help from my unhappiness.  (I have mentioned this in other posts.) Through prayer and my own efforts (study and therapy) God showed me physical/chemical solutions and mental/emotional solutions to my bipolar disorder.

Physical/Chemical Solutions

“Bipolar disorder is widely believed to be the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. The chemicals responsible for controlling the brain’s functions are called neurotransmitters and include noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine.” (Bipolar disorder – Causes – NHS, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bipolar-disorder/causes/)

Around the time I started going to therapy for anger, a friend of mine told me about a Natural Health Practitioner she loved watching on YouTube called Barbara O’Neil.  I decided to check her out and quickly became obsessed with watching every one of her videos.  She explained the science of the body clearly and in a way that was very pertinent to everyday life.  She helped me believe that my body was built to function properly and that “genetics loads the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger.”

This meant that bipolar may run in my family, but I might have the power to live in a way that frees me from it.  I thought that maybe as my overall health improved, my body would be able to better regulate the serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline neurotransmitters?   I found this to be true.

 

Exercise

O’Neil stressed what she called the 8 Laws of Health: 1. Breathe pure air; 2. Soak up sunshine; 3. Try temperance; 4. Rest; 5. Exercise Daily; 6. Enjoy a proper diet; 7. Drink plenty of water; 8. Trust divine power.

I started to exercise a little bit every day.  I had a baby and a toddler at home, so normally I would exercise to a goofy little video another friend had given me that was for kids to do with their parents.  Jefferson wouldn’t normally do the whole thing with me, but he liked watching me.  Other days I would walk with my friend around our local gold course while we talked and pushed our kids in strollers.

Homemade Food

Because of Barbara O’Neil’s teachings I began to eat less wheat, dairy, sugar and processed foods.  I already made most of our family’s food because we were on a low income.  We very rarely ate out.  Paleo diets have no wheat, so I began to experiment with some paleo recipes and to try meals based around rice instead of wheat.  I also got into preparing meals to freeze for busy days when I didn’t have time to. There are some great blogs for making large amounts of freezer meals at once.  This one has 20 crockpot meals in 2 hours.

Cutting Back Sugar and Quitting Sugar

The biggest physical/chemical difference for my bipolar came when I quit sugar. In addition to being motivated by Barbara O’Neil, I also got a distinct prompting from the Lord to eat less sugar.

First, I cut back to certain cheat days.  Holidays, Sundays and Monday nights were a starting point.  I would save all the sweets I wanted to eat and then gorge on them Sunday.  I turned to dates, honey and fruit in between.  After a while I started to cheat too often because I considered birthdays a holiday and it was always someone’s birthday.  The time came to quit completely.

I bought a book called I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson.  I didn’t have money to buy the ingredients in her recipes, but after reading the book I determined to start.  It was very hard at first and I had a lot of cravings.  But, after a few weeks the cravings went away, and I didn’t even want sweets when I saw them (most of the time).

Sugar Free = Bipolar Free

About a month into it my irritability went away, and my emotions became steady.  I could handle difficult situations arising from the children’s boyishness without getting upset and I became more patient with my husband.  It was a miracle.

At this time my grandmother, Patricia Byrd, passed away and as I visited with family at her funeral, I learned that my great grandmother was bipolar.  I also learned that my great uncle, my grandmother’s brother, had also quit sugar after reading a book he said was called White Poison.  (This book may be out of print or that might not be the correct title because I have tried to find that book but could not.)  He said before he quit sugar, he would have terrible mood swings.  It confirmed to me that because of my genetics I need to be sugar free to be chemically balanced.

Today

My sweet tooth still calls me, and I have experimented with a lot of naturally sweetened dessert recipes.  Some of them are great.  But I have made some real nasties too that my family wouldn’t eat.  They complained about most of them actually and I must admit that recently (in the last few months) I have started to eat more and more sugar.

It started it with just a few tastes and cheats, but it has grown too much and too frequent.  I am seeing the effects of it on my mood too.  As I am writing this, I resolve today to fix this problem.  NO MORE CHEATS.  I will turn to bread and fruits again unless I have time and ingredients to make sugar free desserts.

Conclusion

Psychological/mental/emotional solutions came to me simultaneously with the physical/chemical changes I have spoken of here.  These new ways of thinking were every bit as dramatic in changing my life from mood swings to constant peace.  I look forward to sharing that adventure in my next post.