[STARLITE*1111]

WOULDN'T THAT BE SO AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm 52

[Travelinglady]

I personally believe prayer can help any situation, Starlite. I don't know of anyone who has prayed for bipolar to go away, but I did pray about another mental issue I had, which was considered incurable. But I still worked hard in therapy. Now I am told by docs and therapists that they see no sign of it in me!

Maybe I should pray about my bipolar.

[BipolaRNurse]

I know better than to try praying bipolar away. There's a reason I have this disorder, and I think God wishes me to help other people with it by sharing what little wisdom I possess, and serving as an example to show the naysayers that BPers can be successful and happy too.

Of course, I say that NOW, when the world is full of possibilities and the sky's the limit......

[purpledaisy]

I'm a big believer in prayer. I think prayer has the power to help us deal wtih being bipolar and all of the lovely things that go along with it.

But prayer it away? No.

[Darth Bane]

that will be awesome.... but nothing is ever easy... and i found out for me miracles never happen..... i am not that lucky

[bluemountains]

I wish I could pray it away. I know, however, that my brain chemistry requires medication in order to function at a comfortable level. I do say prayers of thanks, as well as prayers for staying mentally healthy.
I believe in the power of prayer, and I am thankful that prayers offers me peacefulness.
Bluemountains

[faerie_moon_x]

Even if it can't be prayed away, trying to keep a positive outlook and prayer and medication can help you if that's something you believe in. Just like laughter. Laughter is an amazing medicine. It may not take the BP away but it can help you get through hard times.

[venusss]

Prayer... and beliefs can get you through. And maybe you can pray for good omens and direction.

[thickntired]

Hi,

My Mother is in denial. She believes I was misdiagnosed as bipolar and will someday be all normal and return to a corporate job. I believe it is guilt bc the alcoholism in her family was probably undiagnosed bipolar. My Dad is military and thinks I am dramatic, attention seeking, and should be able to pull myself up by the boot straps.

It still infuriates me, but I just try to ignore them. I'm mean my gosh when I was in my 20's I cut my arms so deep it took 20 staples from the ER. Who does that but an ill person?! I also know they can be toxic and I limit my time with them. Now I'm in AA for addiction and they also think that is bs.

To thine own self be true,

TnT

[shortandcute]

Originally Posted by thickntired

Hi,

My Mother is in denial. She believes I was misdiagnosed as bipolar and will someday be all normal and return to a corporate job. I believe it is guilt bc the alcoholism in her family was probably undiagnosed bipolar. My Dad is military and thinks I am dramatic, attention seeking, and should be able to pull myself up by the boot straps.

It still infuriates me, but I just try to ignore them. I'm mean my gosh when I was in my 20's I cut my arms so deep it took 20 staples from the ER. Who does that but an ill person?! I also know they can be toxic and I limit my time with them. Now I'm in AA for addiction and they also think that is bs.

To thine own self be true,

TnT

My oldest sister is the same way with me. It's always just "something I ate" or I'm going thru menopause (menopause at 12?) or whatever. She and her husband were my legal guardians from 16-18, and they still think that I should have been magically cured just because I live with them for a couple of years! They get frustrated with me sometimes, saying things like, "We raised you better than that," or "God gave you over to a reprobate mind" or "You were fine until you married Ralph!"
The funny thing about that is that the only reason I married him was because they told that God told them that I had to marry Ralph; they were trying to force me to marry him a lot of times before that cuz they wanted me out of the house-and I wouldn't do it. But they knew that if they told me that God said so, I would believe it.
Anyway, my sister's big thing now is to give me "pep talks." She keeps telling me to go to school and get a teacher's certificate-and saying "You can do it!"

[dillpickle1983]

That's like praying the gay away. It doesn't do anything. I wish I could pray my bipolar and depression away, but it's not possible. I have these illnesses for a reason. Maybe I'm being punished for something I did in the past, I don't know.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9310

[anneo59]

Originally Posted by thickntired

Hi,

My Mother is in denial. She believes I was misdiagnosed as bipolar and will someday be all normal and return to a corporate job. I believe it is guilt bc the alcoholism in her family was probably undiagnosed bipolar. My Dad is military and thinks I am dramatic, attention seeking, and should be able to pull myself up by the boot straps.

It still infuriates me, but I just try to ignore them. I'm mean my gosh when I was in my 20's I cut my arms so deep it took 20 staples from the ER. Who does that but an ill person?! I also know they can be toxic and I limit my time with them. Now I'm in AA for addiction and they also think that is bs.

To thine own self be true,

TnT

Hang in there, Thickntired. I can relate to family denial of your disorder, illness, etc. There's nothing you can to, with respect to that issue. Glad you are more focused on therapy and on managing your bipolar and also doing your work in AA. Remember, you are not your illness! You don't have to be defined by your illness, though it is there and easier to live with, if you try to manage it, as you are doing. So please feel better, that's a good thing that you are able to try to manage your BP. Again, hang in there!

[Kylomon]

There is a saying from somewhere... Trust in the lord..... but tie up your camel! A God loves you for sure and prayers are answered in Gods time. God has created the world in which we live and us - warts and chemical imbalances and all. We all have our lot in life and our challanges. Parents are in deniel because its a coping mechanism because they love thier children so much. They dont know the peaks and valleys you go through or how you feel first hand. Pray it away? I would not count on it. God provided the materials and knowhow to use them. Meds work. There is a story of a man stuck on a roof in a flood. A boat came by and they asked him to get in. He replied "I am a man of God and I believe he will save me".. the water rose higher and another boat came by asking him to get in. He gave the same reply "I trust in the lord and he will save me. The waters rose even higher and a helicopter lowered a ladder down to the man who gave the same reply "The I trust in God and I know he will save me" The water rose more and the man drowned. When he arrived in heaven he asked God "Lord, I trusted in you, why did you not save me? God replied. "What do you mean, I sent 2 boats and a helicopter!" Cute story. Pep talks and the "Snap out of it" approach seem like the right thing to do for people, but what they dont realize is that certain chemicals in your brain have shut down and you no longer have the capacity for interest in anything or hope, or energy to "Just Do it" thats when the real fight begins - but sometimes the fight is just enduring until it passes. The nice thing about bi-polar is that things will change, you just need to try and accept that life is going to suck for awhile until they do. Easy to say, hard to do. Good luck to all who read this.

[belledisastre]

One could also try to pray away Cancer, etc. Miracles can happen. One can always hope, anything is possible. But you have to take initiative to get better as well. I doubt a terminal Cancer patient would just pray & do nothing & leave it all in God's hands; no, they'd take initiative and try to get treatment. They'd keep going, and fight to get better. Same with what we should do. We can pray, and develop a good relationship with God, but that alone will not solve all of our problems. We should trust in God, but he can't do all the work for us. God can't just take away all our problems like that because then we don't have anything to truly learn and get out of life. We need to just keep going and fight for the best in life.

[belledisastre]

Oh and as for the others whose families disregard and deny their mental illnesses: So does mine. I honestly think that a majority of families are like that. "Oh no, that can't happen to someone in MY family. There's nothing wrong with her." Ha. If they could only experience firsthand the pain that we go through each day with our mental disorders, they'd shut their mouths in a second. But I realized I can't change what they believe, so I'm just like whatever. They can think what they want, in the end that doesn't effect who I am as a person. I've learned just to ignore them and disregard their ignorant and nonsensical comments.

[faerie_moon_x]

I actually did meet a girl who was only 19 and had ovarian cancer. She wasn't getting any treatment or surgery or anything, just praying and leaving it to god. It's her choice in the end. I don't know what ever happened to her. I just hope that whatever it was, she wasn't in terrible pain from it. She was a very nice girl and strong willed.

[belledisastre]

Oh wow! That really surprises me. That must be a really unusual occurrence. It scares me that she was just praying and leaving it to God, just as it would scare me if someone was doing the same thing for Bipolar Disorder. God can only do so much, he can't make your life perfect for you. Then there'd be no point of living. You have to live and fight and try to overcome your battles and keep moving in the right direction.

I believe that God can, CAN, heal anyone at anytime from anything.
I know first hand people who prayed and were healed from illnesses, and I know first hand people who prayed and were NOT healed from illnesses.
I pray for healing and mental stability, for God to take away my anxiety and depression, to be healed.
Am I 'healed?" Many days, yes. Other days, not so much. However that does not keep me from praying about it anyway.
Besides all that, the bottom line is a relationship with Christ Jesus is about where your soul ends up in eternity, not wether or not you get "healed." I have had and continue to have difficulty remembering that in the face of my divorce, raising our daughter, and paying off all my debt. I am up and I am down. For me, it's just life.
In the end, sick or well, where will my soul spend all of eternity?

[Cocosurviving]

As some have said, I'm a big believer in God and prayer. I ask God for help w/ my mental health challenges but I've never asked to be cured. I believe God wanted me to have bipolar disorder 1. I can help other people.

[anneo59]

Originally Posted by chandlerT660

That's like praying the gay away. It doesn't do anything. I wish I could pray my bipolar and depression away, but it's not possible. I have these illnesses for a reason. Maybe I'm being punished for something I did in the past, I don't know.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9310

I believe we have our illnesses and disorders for a reason, also, Chandler, Speed, everyone. But personally just not totally sure about punishment, but don't know.

[catsrhelm]

While I do believe in prayer and have seen it help situations, bi-polar can not be prayed away. It is a chemical condition that must be controlled with medication.

[venusss]

Originally Posted by catsrhelm

While I do believe in prayer and have seen it help situations, bi-polar can not be prayed away. It is a chemical condition that must be controlled with medication.

no offense but "chemical condition" has pretty much the same scientific proof as "prayer works".

Just let's not substitute a traditional untruth for a popular one.

[STARLITE*1111]

Originally Posted by chandlerT660

That's like praying the gay away. It doesn't do anything. I wish I could pray my bipolar and depression away, but it's not possible. I have these illnesses for a reason. Maybe I'm being punished for something I did in the past, I don't know.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9310

I don't believe you're being punished - hugs

[punkypunky]

If my mother said something like that to me, I would stop talking to her.

If there were a simple cure for mental illness like that, nobody would have mental illness.

Sure prayer can help people who believe in it to some degree, but it is no cure.

Perhaps I am jaded.

I think if my mom said that, I would tell her prayer doesn't always get snswered like that. I do believe itd a combination of many things, including chemical and hormone imbalances that make us bipolar. Just a lack of good restful sleep causes people like myself to hallucinate