[BPDlasthouse]

I genuinely believe that I will help to heal myself mentally and emotionally if I work on the spiritual. I have found again and again, that I can get some relief from some of the symptoms of depression, anxiety, addictions and BPD when I work on this area of my life. I do not think it will cure the problems but I know that I can get some respite or at least some courage to fight the good fight.

When I pray, meditate and try to be of service to others, when I practice mindfulness and when I believe in some greater reality than myself that can hold me when I can't hold myself, I have the strength and some power to go on and shoulder the sometimes overwhelming burdens I have to with my various disorders.

I say this as much for myself as anyone else, as I am walking in a bit of a spiritual desert at the moment and I need to remind myself that I have experienced another greater reality. I have faith, I just need to reach out a little more than I am.

Be well

Hello, BPDlasthouse. Spirituality is a dimension of wellness:

The 8 Dimensions of Wellness:
Physical Wellness
Emotional Wellness
Intellectual Wellness
Social Wellness
Spiritual Wellness
Environmental Wellness
Multicultural Wellness
Occupational Wellness

See too: http://www.feibh.com/resourcelib/art...enwellness.pdf

[kykid]

I agree totally with you BPDlasthouse.

Early in my illness, I was diagnosed as suffering from Major Depression. I was fortunate to stumble upon a Doctor who is deeply spiritual and he has served me well in therapy with his spiritual advice. He, from the beginning, encouraged me to provide for my mental, spiritual, and physical health. He explained it by saying that health is like a three legged stool. It takes all three legs to support the stool.

Since being diagnosed as bipolar in 2000, I have struggled to maintain wellness with spiritual and physical health, along with medication and psychotherapy. Only within the last two years have I strongly pursued spiritual health through my Church and the results are astounding. I have learned more about myself than I ever imagined possible, and feel that this spiritual work leaves me in a good position to battle this illness for the rest of my life to a successful conclusion.

Even my wife remarks on the difference in me since I began my spiritual development.

Good luck and God bless.

Originally Posted by BPDlasthouse

I genuinely believe that I will help to heal myself mentally and emotionally if I work on the spiritual. I have found again and again, that I can get some relief from some of the symptoms of depression, anxiety, addictions and BPD when I work on this area of my life. I do not think it will cure the problems but I know that I can get some respite or at least some courage to fight the good fight.

When I pray, meditate and try to be of service to others, when I practice mindfulness and when I believe in some greater reality than myself that can hold me when I can't hold myself, I have the strength and some power to go on and shoulder the sometimes overwhelming burdens I have to with my various disorders.

I say this as much for myself as anyone else, as I am walking in a bit of a spiritual desert at the moment and I need to remind myself that I have experienced another greater reality. I have faith, I just need to reach out a little more than I am.

Be well

[md39218]

Hello BPDlast house,
I agree with you about the spiritual but don't you think that sometimes the meds help alot especially when other things did not work. I love that there is finally a place to talk about things that were once only discussed in a doctor's office. I wish you well and hope that as I discover how this forum works that I may also find the help that is so badly needed for my family and son.

[Rose76]

BPDlasthouse: What you've expressed is something like what I feel. But you expressed it better than I am able. I think your faith is stronger. Still, you walk in the spiritual desert. I also trudge through the sterile sands where it seems life can not be sustained. But, as you say, there is in me the memory of having "experienced a greater reality." Something that I will never get from any pdoc or therapist is needed. I am thirsting for what I can't quite describe. I thought it was better support from other people. That's not quite it. I want some communion with others who can share some of their faith to bolster me in my "dark night of the soul." Two good people prayed for me today while actually holding on to me. I have faith in their faith. I want to know where I can be with people like that more often. I want what they have.

[kathleen slattery]

BDPlasthouse, you just phrased everything so beautifully here, that it's clear that you are a deeply spiritual person. And Rose, as for the "dark night of the soul", even the most devout and faithful people like Mother Theresa experienced this feeling; she said that it lasted years for her. I think it is fair to say that we all feel a little bit faith-challenged at times in our lives. But it always is there with us, whether we know it or not, IMO.

[BPDlasthouse]

The 'spiritual desert' is helped by like-minded others. Your responses show me that. I feel lifted by all of your words here.

On a very dark day a fortnight ago I took an overdose and spent 10 days in a psych unit. I found that the dark night of the soul had descended rapidly and absolutely that day, but then I didn't reach out either to others or the greater reality I know is there. I allowed my impulses to overwhelm me. I know as a recovering alcoholic of 11 years and as someone who didn't self-harm for many years (I relapsed on that one a year ago) that this isn't necessary. I have also found in the last few days that hope makes the unbearable bearable. This is a revelation but also the result of being open enough to listen to the staff in the acute, and to my own spirit. I'm not sure I had much hope before and I think this is why I overdosed. I do have hope today. And with the hope I am also finding myself praying again, and reaching out to that greater reality within which will keep me safe from myself and enable recovery from mental distress.

I also wanted to say to MD39218 that yes, medication is sometimes essential to reach the realm of the spirit. I have found in the past that I was unable to have any contact with my higher power when chronically, severely depressed. Even though I was living spiritually as best I could, I didn't 'feel' my higher power. Meds enabled me to feel it again.

Be well all. x

[billieJ]

BPD - You are so right. Many thanks for the reminder of how to be my own best self.

[tohelpafriend]

Rose76, if those good people prayed for you and you were sustained, why not go to fellowship where they go to church? God healed me once of depression and I know He's able to do it again. Sometimes it feels like I'm my own obstacle, maybe not enough faith to get whole. "Woman, thy faith hath made me whole." What I can give you encouragement about faith is, keep at it...even the faith of a child. I understand the desert you speak of.....I don't ask you who your "higher reality" is, but there IS LI
FE in reading the bible and meditating on the healing promises. Often,healing from mental oppression does come about by deliverance. Where I live, in a condo complex, like yesterday and Friday, I felt so heavy all day, then yesterday late afternoon I drove to the beach and was refreshed by the sea air, sunset and power of the water. Be well,

[stevedav]

I think yoga is the best way to reduce your tension and depression , the reason the yoga make you feel very calm and relax..

[slinks]

I am in agreement with what has been shared here. I am about 40 years old and have dealt with anxitey and depression since at least the age of fourteen, but as I am going through therapy, I believe my anxiety goes back as far as I have memories. I am a Christian, and I have felt times in my life where having that faith in something higher was something I thought should be enough to sustain me, but after many years, I now believe that without medication, I have a chemical imbalance that I cannot heal with just faith...

It used to make me think I wasn't a strong enough believer, but now I think that the true show of my faith, is to admit that I cannot blame the makeup of my body chemisrty on my lack of faith.

Just like a diabetic can't say, I will be a more faithful person and my diabetes will go away...They have to start with their diet, and if that isn't enough to correct the situation, then they need medication to regulate their body in order to keep blood sugar levels controlled...

I will not giveup on my faith because I have depression, since it is part of who I am, but I now realize that I need the assistance of medication to help me stay controlled.