Sarah Fox on the Intersection of Mental Health and Faith

Since being diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder, Sarah Fox has made it her mission to break down the stigma surrounding mental health. She is the host of the Rough Edges podcast, which provides tools for mental health education and examines the intersection between faith and mental health. Sarah's faith journey has been an integral part of her bipolar journey, in fact her diagnosis initially triggered a crisis of faith that she has since overcome. In January of 2021, Sarah experienced a severe manic episode. This involved disruptions in her sleep, incoherent thoughts and psychosis, with both auditory and visual hallucinations. Her memories of this time are hazy, but she does remember feeling a powerful sense of euphoria, like she was on top of the world. As this manic episode increased in intensity Sarah became aggressive, at which point her family decided to have her hospitalized. During her three week stay in the hospital Sarah was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the severity of her manic episode qualified her as type 1. In this episode of the Major Pain podcast, Sarah discusses how her bipolar diagnosis transformed her life, initially turning her world upside down. Her prior knowledge of bipolar had a negative connotation due to poor representation in popular media, and to be diagnosed with this disease triggered not only a crisis of faith but also an identity crisis. She suddenly had to re-contextualize everything she thought about herself, but the resulting transformation has brought her to a place of stability in both her bipolar journey and her faith. Through her mental health advocacy work she endeavors to spread a message of hope, proving it is possible to thrive with bipolar. Connect with Sarah and check out the Rough Edges podcast at https://www.roughedgespodcast.com/ PlayWatch the episode on YouTube, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.