June 4, 2025 • 32 mins
The fog lifts momentarily, only to descend again. The lightning that fuels creativity brings thunder in its wake. This is the reality for millions living with bipolar disorder – not just mood swings, but profound shifts that can transform daily functioning into heroic acts of survival.
Bipolar disorder remains one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions, carrying heavy stigma despite affecting countless lives. Through Jonah's powerful story, we witness the journey from despair to diagnosis, from isolation to community, from suffering to managing. His experience mirrors what many face: the electric highs of mania with its decreased need for sleep and grandiose thinking, followed by crushing depressive episodes that can last weeks.
We carefully distinguish between bipolar I with its full manic episodes requiring hospitalization, and bipolar II with its less severe hypomanic states. The cycling between these poles creates a uniquely challenging experience that impacts relationships, work, and self-perception. What many don't realize is how frequently childhood trauma correlates with bipolar disorder development, as adverse experiences literally reshape developing brains and stress response systems.
Treatment offers real hope – medication like mood stabilizers remains the cornerstone, while therapy provides essential coping strategies. Yet perhaps the greatest challenge lies in medication compliance, as feeling better often leads to abandoning treatment. For loved ones supporting someone with bipolar disorder, understanding this pattern becomes crucial, as does recognizing that people with this condition often have limited insight into their symptoms.
Recovery doesn't mean cured – it means stable, self-aware, and equipped with tools to navigate life's challenges. Some of the most creative, resilient people manage this condition daily, finding strength through their struggles. Whether you're personally affected or supporting someone on this journey, remember this truth: bipolar disorder is part of someone's story, not their entire identity.
Reach out for help if these conversations resonate with you. Through proper diagnosis, consistent treatment, and compassionate community, there is light even in the darkest storms. You are not your diagnosis. You are seen, you are known, you are heard, you are loved, and you are valuable beyond measure.
You ARE:
SEEN KNOWN HEARD LOVED VALUED
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're lost in the fog, no answer in sight.
You can't find a pill to makeit all right.
What would I give to make itall right?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Sometimes survival looks like heroism.
It looks like brushing yourteeth after three days in bed.
It looks like answering onetext message when you want to
disappear.
It looks like saying I needhelp.
This is a story of a bipolarpatient, and this is what hope
(00:38):
sounds like when you almost loseit.
Lose it.
He didn't always feel broken.
There were times when he feltelectric, even untouchable.
He'd fill five sketchbooks in aweek.
He'd build three websites in aweekend.
He'd call his friends at 3 amjust to tell him about the
(01:04):
future that he could see.
He didn't know that the samebrain that gave him the
lightning would eventually bringthe thunder, because when the
high was over, you see, therewas silence.
Then he stopped drawing, hestopped answering his phone.
He would lay in bed for hours,staring at the ceiling, hoping,
(01:26):
maybe even begging, that sleepwould swallow him whole.
He would cry withoutacknowledging why.
Or worse, sometimes he wouldn'tfeel anything at all, not joy,
not sadness, just gray.
You see, he didn't think he wassick.
(01:47):
He thought he was failing.
He thought maybe he was justtoo weak for this world.
And in his darkest hour, when hestarted to write a note, it
wasn't a note of a journal entry.
It wasn't a note of a to-dolist, it was a goodbye.
(02:08):
But then something stopped him,or rather somebody, because you
see, his sister knocked on thedoor and she waited.
She didn't leave, she didn'tgive a speech, she just told him
you can't do this alone and youdon't have to do it alone.
(02:31):
So Jonah answered the door andhe didn't believe her right away
, his sister.
But she asked him to go to anappointment.
He went to the appointment, hesat in the chair and he spoke
the words for the out loud forthe first time Something's wrong
with me.
I don't know what, but I don'twant to die, not really.
(02:55):
He left the office that daywith a diagnosis bipolar two.
It wasn't a death sentence, ithad a name and with that name
came a map.
Not a shortcut, not a miracle,but a way through.
(03:16):
Because, you see, therapy camenext medication.
He learned his rhythms.
He started to track his moods.
He learned his rhythms.
He started to track his moods.
He started to draw again, notto be brilliant, he started to
draw just so he could breathe.
And one day he paintedsomething, not for work, not for
anybody else, but just forhimself.
(03:38):
It was a storm split down themiddle, lightning on one side
and sunrise on the other.
He titled it Still here.
Because, you see, that paintingbecame a series.
That series became a galleryshow and that show sparked
conversations with strangers,some who whispered I feel that
(04:02):
too and he would smile and say Iknow you're not alone Because,
you see, jonah still has baddays, he still has storms, but
now he has a shelter, he has awords.
He has many, many words for hispain.
He has people, he has God, hehas a star of the story.
(04:24):
He remembers the star of thestory when he checks his journal
, his mood journal.
He still goes to therapy.
He still reaches out to thosepeople at his church and in his
life when he needs it.
The thing about it, guys, isthat he is still here.
So if you're listening to thisand you feel like you're
(04:45):
slipping, if you're tired ofthat climb, please let this
story be your pause button.
Let it remind you that if youor somebody you love is
diagnosed with bipolar disorder,you or they are not your
diagnosis, you or they are not aburden.
You or they are not a burden,you or they are not alone.
(05:08):
There is light, there is help,and you or someone you love
deserves both.
Welcome to the Wednesdays withWatson podcast.
(05:31):
This is Bipolar Disorder 101.
Hey everybody, and welcome backto the Wednesdays with Watson
podcast.
You know by now, but my name isAmy Watson and I am your host.
I am super grateful that you'vedecided to spend a few moments
with me.
I've said it so many times overthe years time is not something
(05:52):
that we are making more of, andI am so grateful that you have
decided to spend a little bit oftime with me.
This episode, being dropped onthe 4th of June and 2025, was
meant to be dropped in May forMental Health Awareness Month.
As many of you know, this is apodcast that focuses on trauma,
but today we are going to talkabout bipolar disorder.
(06:13):
This is a topic that affectsmillions of people.
It affects some of themsilently, some of them loudly
and some of them somewhere inbetween.
I've promised this episode forquite some time.
We were going to do it for amental health awareness month,
but my dissertation guys, it bedissertationing and so I am
behind.
But I did want to get to thisepisode because whether you are
(06:37):
living with bipolar disorder,you love somebody who is, or
you're just trying to understandthe complex condition better.
This episode is for you.
We're going to unpack all thebasics of bipolar disorder.
What is it, what isn't it, howdoes it show up, how is it
treated and, most importantly,how can I have hope, even in my
(07:01):
affliction?
Let's dip into this episodeabout bipolar disorder.
Okay, guys, and so I am soexcited kind of to talk to you
about bipolar disorder.
This is something that I haveseen a lot in my work at the
hospital.
It is often misunderstood, asbipolar disorder does carry with
(07:23):
it a significant stigma, but itis a serious mental illness.
It is a mental health conditionoften marked by significant
shifts in mood.
Bipolar disorder is a mooddisorder.
It will shift energies, it willshift activity levels and the
ability to carry out yourday-to-day task.
(07:45):
Now, unlike your mood swing,like today, I have swung from
elated to irritated, becausethat's life.
So bipolar disorder is reallyimportant for you to understand
that it's not a mood swing.
It is deeper, it is moreenduring and is way more
disruptive than people thinkwhen they hear, oh, that they're
(08:06):
just having a mood swing.
So we're going to only talkabout there's really three types
of bipolar disorder, but I onlywant to focus on two bipolar
type one and bipolar type two.
Now I'm not going to bore youguys with how prevalent this is
and all the things.
You can look that up.
What I want this episode to dois for you to understand bipolar
disorder.
(08:27):
Whether you hit play on this,on this podcast for you or
somebody you love, I hope thatyou hit end and you know a
little bit more about how tosupport either yourself or
somebody living with bipolardisorder that you love.
And so we have two differenttypes of bipolar disorder.
When you hear that word by, youmean two different ends, right.
And so bipolar disorder is amood disorder that ranges from
(08:50):
what we call manic, which issuper high, to depressive, which
is super low.
So bipolar one involves thatmania that we talked about, and
if you've ever been aroundsomebody who is manic, you know
it Really really quick speech,flight of ideas.
They sometimes won't sleep fordays if they're in a manic
(09:11):
episode, and we'll talk aboutthis throughout the episode, but
oftentimes they'll havegrandiose thinking.
They'll think something aboutthemselves that just simply
isn't true when they're manic.
Remember, this is a chemicalimbalance that causes this mania
and causes the depression onthe other side.
These people cannot controlthis.
It needs to be medicated.
It needs to be treated withtherapy medicine and, of course,
(09:32):
jesus.
Now, this mania can last forseven days.
The DSM requires it to have toresult in hospitalization.
Now, what is the DSM?
You ask me that it's just afancy book that has all of the
diagnoses of the serious mentalillnesses in it.
And so the DSM, for it to beconsidered bipolar disorder, the
(09:53):
mania needs to last seven daysor more.
So if you can imagine the mosthyper person that you've ever
been around, and then some, thatis mania, and it lasts for
seven days or more.
But it must include ahospitalization for it to be
diagnosed for bipolar onedisorder and, of course,
hospitalizations are going tooccur when that person is a
danger to themselves or a dangerto somebody else.
(10:16):
So bipolar one includes thismania that lasts for seven days
or more.
That requires hospitalization.
This is the first episode and adepression that lasts two weeks
or more.
And so, for those of you notliving with this disorder, I
want you to think about this fora second.
Can you imagine, for a second,being as high as you've ever
been?
Because that's what mania isSuper, super, super high mood,
(10:40):
right?
Can you imagine being manic andgetting all kinds of things
done, not requiring any sleep.
Manic and getting all kinds ofthings done, not requiring any
sleep, and then immediatelyfalling into the deepest
depression you've ever been in,for two weeks or more.
That's bipolar one.
Bipolar two involves thatdepressive episode that I'm
talking about and then what wecall hypomanic, which is just
(11:03):
less manic than regular mania,and but no full blown manic
episodes for it to be bipolartwo.
So bipolar two is more rare.
We see bipolar one more withthe mania that last seven days
that requires a hospitalization,and then a depressive episode
that lasts two weeks or more.
So let's talk a little bitabout what a manic episode looks
(11:26):
like.
So a manic episode is not justan extremely good mood.
It is an elevated and extremelyelevated, particularly for the
person that you're talking to orirritable mood Okay, that's
mania.
Also inflated self-esteem.
(11:49):
Oftentimes at the hospital wewill get patients that say I am
akin to, to or grandiosethoughts.
Let me talk about that onefirst.
So grandiose thought meaning atits most extreme.
I've seen people say I'mfriends with Elon Musk, to I
saved the world, to I'm thepresident, to I'm even God, to
what we consider to be aninflated self esteem, people
that walk around and kind ofpump themselves up all the time.
If it comes with some of theseother things like an elevated or
(12:09):
irritable mood and thisinflation of their self-esteem
or these ideas of grandiositylike they're the best people on
the planet.
If it comes with a decreasedneed for sleep.
If it comes from the patienthaving racing thoughts or they
just don't ever stop talking.
We need to look at a manicparticular episode.
(12:31):
If it continues and it'sunusual and it comes with these
other things like racingthoughts, decreased need for
sleep, this inflated self-esteem, these ideas of grandiosity,
this incredibly elevated mood orthis irritable mood, and
finally, the one that and thisdoesn't get as much ink as it
should or as much attention asit should.
When a person is manic, they areoften impulsive and this will
(12:56):
lead to risky behaviors.
Now I want to park here for asecond, because there's a couple
risky behaviors that thisoccurs in when patients are
manic that we do assign riskright, wrong, indifferent,
whatever to.
We assign morality to it, whenmaybe we should be thinking
(13:16):
about as a solid character.
So, for example, bipolar peoplewill be extremely hypersexual.
They will often have riskysexual encounters with many,
many people, sometimes peoplethat are in a manic bipolar
episode, will gamble.
Sometimes they anything thatcan be impulsive and risky
oftentimes we see in manicbehavior, and so you can see how
(13:39):
society just kind of kicksthese kind of people to the
curve that make theseirresponsible decisions and
risky behaviors when they're ina manic state of mind.
If we don't recognize that theycould potentially be in a manic
state of mind and they'remaking these decisions that are
risky and that are reallydestroying their lives, somebody
needs to step in and help them.
(13:59):
If they have some of theseother symptoms of mania
Impulsivity, generally speaking,when it's this risky drug abuse
, all of those things generallycomes with a severe mental
illness like bipolar disorder,mental illness like bipolar
disorder, and so mania, you'llknow mania when you see it,
because it is so different fromthe way the person normally is.
You will know it when you see it.
(14:20):
But it's just this extreme,extreme elevated or irritable
mood that comes with a decreasedneed for sleep, that comes with
this increased self esteem,esteem and comes with these
ideas of grandiosity.
Now, hypermania shares many ofthese symptoms, but they're less
severe and they typically don'tresult in hospitalization.
Remember, the hypomania comeswith bipolar two.
(14:40):
So hypermania shares many ofthese symptoms, but they are
less severe and typically don'tresult in hospitalization or
even a major life disruption,but still they do cause issues
with relationships, they affectwork and all of those things.
It really is easy for us tomiss mania, especially in the
early stages.
But hyper mania can sometimesfeel good, like extra energy or
(15:02):
creativity, but it can quicklyspiral, and so this is when this
is different for the person ordifferent for you, different
from the way you used to be.
If it came out of nowhere atpuberty or in your mid 20s, this
you need to be talking to adoctor about the possibility of
a mood disorder.
If you are suddenly havinghypomanic or manic episodes and
you never had them before, or ifthat's true about somebody you
(15:26):
love, you need to go get someprofessional help and be
evaluated for bipolar disorder.
Now let's talk about thedepression part of bipolar
disorder.
They're both sad, butdepression can oftentimes lead
to suicide, suicide attempts,drug overdoses, all kinds of
things, and so the depressiveside of bipolar disorder is
(15:47):
often described by people whohave it as the hardest part of
it.
Right, because the mania.
These patients often enjoy themania, because they have often
enjoy the mania because theyhave unlimited energy and all
the things, and even though theyusually make horrible decisions
, and mania is not as bad forthem as the depressive episodes,
of course, the persistentsadness or emptiness, just
(16:08):
fatigue, loss of energy.
I feel worthless, I feelhopeless, I can't concentrate,
and thoughts of death or suicide, and of course that list could
be deep and wide.
For the depressive side ofbipolar disorder, unlike regular
depression or major depression,this bipolar depression often
comes in cycles, and so it'll bea depressive episode with a
(16:30):
manic episode, a depressiveepisode with a manic episode, a
depressive episode with a with amanic episode, and we call this
cycling.
And sometimes it happens veryquickly, unexpectedly and
without warning.
So you can imagine being thesepatients being high, high, high,
low, low, low, high, high, high, low, low, low, and this can
happen in the course of 24 hours, over and over and over.
These people are sufferingy'all and we got to make sure we
(16:55):
remove the stigma from bipolardisorder and we understand that
this is literally a chemicalimbalance in their brain and can
be fixed with medication,therapy, behavioral therapy, all
kinds of ways we can help,especially in the depressive
modes.
This is when we see suicidalideations.
This is when we see patientstake their lives in these deep,
deep, deep depressive episodes.
(17:18):
So what are the causes and therisk factors of bipolar disorder
?
I just kind of mentioned it.
Mostly genetic Researchsuggests, though, that it is a
mix of genetics, the brainstructure, chemistry and even
environmental factors liketrauma or high stress, and we're
going to talk about that herein a few minutes.
If you have a parent with, or asibling with, bipolar disorder,
(17:39):
your risk increases.
But one area getting a lot ofattention is how trauma is
related to bipolar disorder, ourbody's stress response system.
People with bipolar disorderdisorder almost always have
histories of childhood trauma,and studies show how this can
affect mood regulation andbiological stress responses,
meaning that as the braindevelops when there's childhood
(18:00):
trauma, I've said so many timeson this podcast that trauma
changes the brain and it canchange the brain to the tune of
a bipolar diagnosis.
In the absence of genetics orbrain structure issues, that
could clearly be theenvironmental factors, meaning
stress can change the chemistryof the brain to be a bipolar
(18:20):
brain, and that for this podcastand for me.
If you know me, you know thattrauma is my jam, as I am
receiving a doctorate degree intrauma and community care.
I think that we allcollectively need to take a
breath and go and think aboutchildren who are suffering
trauma and, if you haveinfluence on their lives, trying
(18:41):
to change the story, like whathappened with me.
By the way, I'm very fortunatethat I don't have a severe
mental illness like bipolardisorder because of the level of
trauma, but it was because ofGod's people that came alongside
of me and stood in gaps for methat my brain is okay, but many,
many people are not.
(19:02):
Diagnosing bipolar disorder canbe very complicated.
It is often often misdiagnosedas major depression.
That is what we call theunipolar meaning.
There's no mania with it, andso bipolar, especially bipolar 2
, where we just get thehypomanic episodes and not the
mania bipolar 2 can go unnoticedfor many, many years.
(19:23):
So it's very important to workwith a psychiatrist and or a
clinical psychologist, and maybeeven your therapist.
I have a listener who messagedme some time ago and said that
their doctor diagnosed them withbipolar disorder.
Of course, I'm not their doctorand I'm not talking to that
patient, but it seemed like amisdiagnosis to me, and so a
proper diagnosis can take a lotof time.
(19:43):
We need to see the cycling ofthe mania, the cycling of the
depression, and when we, if wedon't see that for a significant
amount of time, then we reallycan't diagnose bipolar disorder.
And so it is a process to bediagnosed with bipolar disorder.
There is DSM criteria for it,but there's also our eyes and
ears that we're watching thesepatients to see.
Are they dealing with majordepression?
(20:05):
Are they dealing with trauma?
Are they dealing with bipolardisorder?
And are they dealing withbipolar disorder as a result of
important brain changes thathappen as a result of their
trauma?
If you are wondering whetheryou or someone you know might
have bipolar disorder, you needto trust your instincts, trust
the process, find doctors thatwill evaluate and evaluate deep
(20:28):
and wide, not just with the DSMbut with behavioral observations
, talking to family members,evaluating labs and blood work,
and all of that because bipolardisorder is a disorder that
qualifies for social securitydisability.
I see patients like this everyday in the hospital who can't
live normal lives because ofuntreated bipolar disorder, and
(20:49):
so it is a serious mentalillness.
It is a serious diagnosis butit takes time.
But the good news is is thepatients I see at the hospital
are not treating their bipolardisorder.
They are often not medicinecompliant.
Medicine is the number one waywe treat bipolar disorder.
One of the oldest medicinesthat we have to do this is
lithium as a mood stabilizer, soit's going to stop that manic
(21:12):
depressive cycling.
Antipsychotics, and sometimesantidepressants though these
will be used carefully, but weuse antipsychotics to keep the
mood level so that we're notcycling between depression and
cycling between mania.
Obviously, psychotherapy youknow I was going to say that
modalities like cognitivebehavioral therapy is a great
(21:33):
one.
Making sure that patientsunderstand and make sure you
understand how to manage thesymptoms.
Stress the importance of sleep.
Don't forget the routine oflife is important when treating
any severe mental illness.
This is the part of the episodewhere I want you to hear,
though, that bipolar disorderdoes not mean the end of a
meaningful life.
(21:53):
Okay, I opened the podcast witha fictional story of Jonah, who
has bipolar disorder, and Icreated him from the fact that
we know that the most was.
Some of the most resilient,creative and insightful people
that I have ever met have livedwith this diagnosis.
(22:15):
Some of the most artistic,creative, smart, brilliant
people are also living withsevere mental illness, but with
the right support, many peoplego on to have normal lives,
families, careers.
We can talk about the science,we can talk about the symptoms,
but the heart of it is thiswe're talking about people,
people who matter, people whocan heal, people who can thrive.
(22:40):
Because with bipolar disorder,you are not your diagnosis.
You are more than thedepression, you are more than
the mania, you matter, your painmatters, your mental health
matters.
If you're under the sound of myvoice and you're like huh, yeah
, I know what she's talkingabout when she says manic and
guys, if you've ever been manic,you know what I'm talking about
(23:01):
.
If you've ever been aroundsomebody, it's like you know,
you just know, I don't, I don'twant to be, I don't want to
explain it because I don't wantto color what you think, but but
mania is tough and certainly ifyou've ever been around anybody
in the throes of deep, deepdepression, you know, you know,
and so there is ways to help you.
(23:22):
We can talk about the scienceand the symptoms, like I said,
but people matter, people canheal and people can thrive, and
you can help people heal outthere as you come in contact
with people, because you orsomebody you know or somebody
that you come alongside of isnot just a diagnosis of bipolar
disorder.
They are more than their highsand their lows.
(23:43):
People ask me all the time whatcan I do to help people?
I love somebody with bipolardisorder and I know what many of
you are thinking because I canread it across the airways.
But they don't believe theyhave bipolar disorder.
That might be true and that isa whole nother podcast for
another day because bipolarpatients have some of the most
limited insight into their ownillness and any severe mental
(24:05):
illness.
And when I say that againbecause I can read your minds
over the airwaves I knowsomebody with bipolar disorder,
but they won't admit that theyhave bipolar disorder.
People with bipolar disorderhave the least amount of insight
of almost any severe mentalillness, second only to
schizophrenia.
So of course they don't know.
You have to listen to withcompassion.
(24:26):
Listen to them with compassion.
Listen to them without judging.
Of course you're doing.
One of the things is educateyourself about bipolar disorder
by listening to this podcastepisode.
Help your loved one, get tosomebody to evaluate them and
then, once they're evaluated, ifthey are diagnosed, help them,
make sure they stay on theirmedicine, take them to the
(24:48):
doctor, be their accountabilitybecause again, patients with
bipolar disorder will start totake their medicine.
Guess what happens?
They feel fine, no mania, nodepression, and they think, hey,
I feel fine, I don't need totake my medicine.
And that, my friends, is thecrux of the hardest part of
(25:09):
living with bipolar disorder ismedicine compliance, and so if
you are living with somebodywith bipolar disorder, whether
that's diagnosed or not, youhave to understand that they
have a road in front of them.
They have to stay on themedications.
Now, we do have somemedications for particular types
of bipolar disorder, becausethere are subtypes that I'm not
(25:30):
boring you with, but there arewhat's called long acting
injectables, and these are shotsthat we give patients that
struggle with medicinecompliance, because they stop
taking it when they feel better.
And basically, I tell patientsall the time you only have to
make a good decision to takeyour medicine once every 30 days
, and so if you or somebody youlove wants to talk to your
(25:52):
doctor about this, you want touse the term long acting
injectable.
Okay, encourage openness withpeople that potentially have a
bipolar disorder, somebody thatyou love.
Don't force it, though.
Okay, use a little bit ofpeople skills with people.
Let them know you love them,lead with compassion, lead with
concern, lead with curiosity andget them the help they need.
(26:14):
Recovery doesn't mean cured,though.
It does mean that they'restable.
It means that they can be selfaware.
It means that we give them,through cognitive processing
therapy, a toolbox of copingskills.
It means we give them communitywe talk about community a lot
on this podcast.
It means that we give themgrace.
Recovery, for bipolar disorderis a winding road, and what you
(26:36):
need to know is that it's okayto stumble, because you will
stumble, or somebody you knowwill stumble.
What matters, though, is thereturn to wellness, the
willingness to keep going.
The last episode that wedropped here and you can just go
back one was about Jesus, whenhe talked to the man, the
paralytic man, who had beensitting by the pools of Bethesda
for 38 years.
He said Do you even want to getbetter?
(26:59):
Because you see, if you orsomebody you know has bipolar
disorder, the secret sauce isthe tiny bit of desire to get
better, to get well.
We can do a lot with thosepatients, so, as we wrap today's
episode, I want you to rememberthat bipolar is part of
someone's story.
It's not their story.
It's not who they are.
It can be a brutal illness.
(27:21):
It can mean multiplehospitalizations over their
lifetime, but can also awakenthem to incredible strength when
they realize that thecreativity and some of the
things that go along withbipolar disorder often makes
them superstars.
To those of you listening whoare in the trenches, you know
what I'm going to say there ishope, you are not alone, you are
(27:43):
not broken and you are notbeyond help.
To those of you who love peoplewith bipolar disorder, thank
you, because you are part of thehealing.
If this episode spoke to you, Iwould love it if you would
share it with somebody who mightneed it, because this is
something that we don't talkabout a lot.
We don't talk a lot about onpodcasts.
(28:04):
We throw big words out atpeople, but the bottom line is
is bipolar disorder is adifficult, difficult diagnosis
to live with, but not impossible.
Difficult diagnosis to livewith, but not impossible.
And if we, as the people of Godand as a community of people,
whether these people are in ourchurch, whether they're at our
work, wherever they are, asChristians we are called to
(28:25):
minister to people who arestruggling, and people with
bipolar disorder need us, theyneed the church, they need
non-judgmental attitudes whenthey engage in these risky
behaviors that we often assignpoor morals to, and so they need
you to love them, they need youto look at them and say what
(28:47):
I've been saying to all of youfor five years you are seen, you
are known, you are heard, youare loved and you are so valued.
That's what all people need,but particularly people in the
throes of mania and then deepdepression, and then mania and
then deep depression.
(29:07):
This is a severe mental illnessand it needs to be talked about
more, and so I encourage you.
If you have any questions andpeople have actually been taking
advantage of this lately rightthere in your podcast app is a
link that says send me a textmessage, and if you have any
questions for me, I will answerthem to the best of my ability.
I do encourage any of you thatthink that you or somebody you
(29:30):
love might have bipolar disorderthat you consider going to get
some help, because help is there.
Guys, we are going to be back intwo weeks.
We are in the summer, and so wewill see what this brings for
us in terms of the podcast.
By way of just updates, I amwhere am I?
(29:51):
I am at the part of mydissertation where my proposal
was accepted, and I will bedefending that proposal, which
is the first half of thedissertation, on June, the 13th,
and then we will be on to thesecond half and hopefully by
October, you all will be callingme Dr Watson, I presume.
Until then, I'll be back in twoweeks.
(30:13):
Please reach out to me in anyof the ways Instagram or on text
through your podcast app, or,if you know me for real, you can
obviously send me a textmessage.
But I hope that you guys allfound this helpful and remember
you are seen, you are known, youare heard, you are loved and
(30:45):
you are so, so valuable In thefight of your whole life.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
You work twice as hard To get half as far.
Nobody knows the hero you are.
I want you to know the hero youare If you ever start doubting,
when it's hard to keep hoping.
(31:17):
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you
when you're tired of fightingand you feel like you're broken.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you.
(31:40):
Look how far you've come, whatyou've already done.
I want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you.
I believe in you Whenever youforget.
I'll say it all again If youever start doubting, when it's
(32:12):
hard to keep hoping.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you
when you're tired of fightingand you feel like you're broken.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you, I
(32:37):
believe in, I believe in you.
You're lost in the fog, no answer in sight.
You can't find a pill to makeit all right.
What would I give to make itall right?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Sometimes survival looks like heroism.
It looks like brushing yourteeth after three days in bed.
It looks like answering onetext message when you want to
disappear.
It looks like saying I needhelp.
This is a story of a bipolarpatient, and this is what hope
(00:38):
sounds like when you almost loseit.
Lose it.
He didn't always feel broken.
There were times when he feltelectric, even untouchable.
He'd fill five sketchbooks in aweek.
He'd build three websites in aweekend.
He'd call his friends at 3 amjust to tell him about the
(01:04):
future that he could see.
He didn't know that the samebrain that gave him the
lightning would eventually bringthe thunder, because when the
high was over, you see, therewas silence.
Then he stopped drawing, hestopped answering his phone.
He would lay in bed for hours,staring at the ceiling, hoping,
(01:26):
maybe even begging, that sleepwould swallow him whole.
He would cry withoutacknowledging why.
Or worse, sometimes he wouldn'tfeel anything at all, not joy,
not sadness, just gray.
You see, he didn't think he wassick.
(01:47):
He thought he was failing.
He thought maybe he was justtoo weak for this world.
And in his darkest hour, when hestarted to write a note, it
wasn't a note of a journal entry.
It wasn't a note of a to-dolist, it was a goodbye.
(02:08):
But then something stopped him,or rather somebody, because you
see, his sister knocked on thedoor and she waited.
She didn't leave, she didn'tgive a speech, she just told him
you can't do this alone and youdon't have to do it alone.
(02:31):
So Jonah answered the door andhe didn't believe her right away
, his sister.
But she asked him to go to anappointment.
He went to the appointment, hesat in the chair and he spoke
the words for the out loud forthe first time Something's wrong
with me.
I don't know what, but I don'twant to die, not really.
(02:55):
He left the office that daywith a diagnosis bipolar two.
It wasn't a death sentence, ithad a name and with that name
came a map.
Not a shortcut, not a miracle,but a way through.
(03:16):
Because, you see, therapy camenext medication.
He learned his rhythms.
He started to track his moods.
He learned his rhythms.
He started to track his moods.
He started to draw again, notto be brilliant, he started to
draw just so he could breathe.
And one day he paintedsomething, not for work, not for
anybody else, but just forhimself.
(03:38):
It was a storm split down themiddle, lightning on one side
and sunrise on the other.
He titled it Still here.
Because, you see, that paintingbecame a series.
That series became a galleryshow and that show sparked
conversations with strangers,some who whispered I feel that
(04:02):
too and he would smile and say Iknow you're not alone Because,
you see, jonah still has baddays, he still has storms, but
now he has a shelter, he has awords.
He has many, many words for hispain.
He has people, he has God, hehas a star of the story.
(04:24):
He remembers the star of thestory when he checks his journal
, his mood journal.
He still goes to therapy.
He still reaches out to thosepeople at his church and in his
life when he needs it.
The thing about it, guys, isthat he is still here.
So if you're listening to thisand you feel like you're
(04:45):
slipping, if you're tired ofthat climb, please let this
story be your pause button.
Let it remind you that if youor somebody you love is
diagnosed with bipolar disorder,you or they are not your
diagnosis, you or they are not aburden.
You or they are not a burden,you or they are not alone.
(05:08):
There is light, there is help,and you or someone you love
deserves both.
Welcome to the Wednesdays withWatson podcast.
(05:31):
This is Bipolar Disorder 101.
Hey everybody, and welcome backto the Wednesdays with Watson
podcast.
You know by now, but my name isAmy Watson and I am your host.
I am super grateful that you'vedecided to spend a few moments
with me.
I've said it so many times overthe years time is not something
(05:52):
that we are making more of, andI am so grateful that you have
decided to spend a little bit oftime with me.
This episode, being dropped onthe 4th of June and 2025, was
meant to be dropped in May forMental Health Awareness Month.
As many of you know, this is apodcast that focuses on trauma,
but today we are going to talkabout bipolar disorder.
(06:13):
This is a topic that affectsmillions of people.
It affects some of themsilently, some of them loudly
and some of them somewhere inbetween.
I've promised this episode forquite some time.
We were going to do it for amental health awareness month,
but my dissertation guys, it bedissertationing and so I am
behind.
But I did want to get to thisepisode because whether you are
(06:37):
living with bipolar disorder,you love somebody who is, or
you're just trying to understandthe complex condition better.
This episode is for you.
We're going to unpack all thebasics of bipolar disorder.
What is it, what isn't it, howdoes it show up, how is it
treated and, most importantly,how can I have hope, even in my
(07:01):
affliction?
Let's dip into this episodeabout bipolar disorder.
Okay, guys, and so I am soexcited kind of to talk to you
about bipolar disorder.
This is something that I haveseen a lot in my work at the
hospital.
It is often misunderstood, asbipolar disorder does carry with
(07:23):
it a significant stigma, but itis a serious mental illness.
It is a mental health conditionoften marked by significant
shifts in mood.
Bipolar disorder is a mooddisorder.
It will shift energies, it willshift activity levels and the
ability to carry out yourday-to-day task.
(07:45):
Now, unlike your mood swing,like today, I have swung from
elated to irritated, becausethat's life.
So bipolar disorder is reallyimportant for you to understand
that it's not a mood swing.
It is deeper, it is moreenduring and is way more
disruptive than people thinkwhen they hear, oh, that they're
(08:06):
just having a mood swing.
So we're going to only talkabout there's really three types
of bipolar disorder, but I onlywant to focus on two bipolar
type one and bipolar type two.
Now I'm not going to bore youguys with how prevalent this is
and all the things.
You can look that up.
What I want this episode to dois for you to understand bipolar
disorder.
(08:27):
Whether you hit play on this,on this podcast for you or
somebody you love, I hope thatyou hit end and you know a
little bit more about how tosupport either yourself or
somebody living with bipolardisorder that you love.
And so we have two differenttypes of bipolar disorder.
When you hear that word by, youmean two different ends, right.
And so bipolar disorder is amood disorder that ranges from
(08:50):
what we call manic, which issuper high, to depressive, which
is super low.
So bipolar one involves thatmania that we talked about, and
if you've ever been aroundsomebody who is manic, you know
it Really really quick speech,flight of ideas.
They sometimes won't sleep fordays if they're in a manic
(09:11):
episode, and we'll talk aboutthis throughout the episode, but
oftentimes they'll havegrandiose thinking.
They'll think something aboutthemselves that just simply
isn't true when they're manic.
Remember, this is a chemicalimbalance that causes this mania
and causes the depression onthe other side.
These people cannot controlthis.
It needs to be medicated.
It needs to be treated withtherapy medicine and, of course,
(09:32):
jesus.
Now, this mania can last forseven days.
The DSM requires it to have toresult in hospitalization.
Now, what is the DSM?
You ask me that it's just afancy book that has all of the
diagnoses of the serious mentalillnesses in it.
And so the DSM, for it to beconsidered bipolar disorder, the
(09:53):
mania needs to last seven daysor more.
So if you can imagine the mosthyper person that you've ever
been around, and then some, thatis mania, and it lasts for
seven days or more.
But it must include ahospitalization for it to be
diagnosed for bipolar onedisorder and, of course,
hospitalizations are going tooccur when that person is a
danger to themselves or a dangerto somebody else.
(10:16):
So bipolar one includes thismania that lasts for seven days
or more.
That requires hospitalization.
This is the first episode and adepression that lasts two weeks
or more.
And so, for those of you notliving with this disorder, I
want you to think about this fora second.
Can you imagine, for a second,being as high as you've ever
been?
Because that's what mania isSuper, super, super high mood,
(10:40):
right?
Can you imagine being manic andgetting all kinds of things
done, not requiring any sleep.
Manic and getting all kinds ofthings done, not requiring any
sleep, and then immediatelyfalling into the deepest
depression you've ever been in,for two weeks or more.
That's bipolar one.
Bipolar two involves thatdepressive episode that I'm
talking about and then what wecall hypomanic, which is just
(11:03):
less manic than regular mania,and but no full blown manic
episodes for it to be bipolartwo.
So bipolar two is more rare.
We see bipolar one more withthe mania that last seven days
that requires a hospitalization,and then a depressive episode
that lasts two weeks or more.
So let's talk a little bitabout what a manic episode looks
(11:26):
like.
So a manic episode is not justan extremely good mood.
It is an elevated and extremelyelevated, particularly for the
person that you're talking to orirritable mood Okay, that's
mania.
Also inflated self-esteem.
(11:49):
Oftentimes at the hospital wewill get patients that say I am
akin to, to or grandiosethoughts.
Let me talk about that onefirst.
So grandiose thought meaning atits most extreme.
I've seen people say I'mfriends with Elon Musk, to I
saved the world, to I'm thepresident, to I'm even God, to
what we consider to be aninflated self esteem, people
that walk around and kind ofpump themselves up all the time.
If it comes with some of theseother things like an elevated or
(12:09):
irritable mood and thisinflation of their self-esteem
or these ideas of grandiositylike they're the best people on
the planet.
If it comes with a decreasedneed for sleep.
If it comes from the patienthaving racing thoughts or they
just don't ever stop talking.
We need to look at a manicparticular episode.
(12:31):
If it continues and it'sunusual and it comes with these
other things like racingthoughts, decreased need for
sleep, this inflated self-esteem, these ideas of grandiosity,
this incredibly elevated mood orthis irritable mood, and
finally, the one that and thisdoesn't get as much ink as it
should or as much attention asit should.
When a person is manic, they areoften impulsive and this will
(12:56):
lead to risky behaviors.
Now I want to park here for asecond, because there's a couple
risky behaviors that thisoccurs in when patients are
manic that we do assign riskright, wrong, indifferent,
whatever to.
We assign morality to it, whenmaybe we should be thinking
(13:16):
about as a solid character.
So, for example, bipolar peoplewill be extremely hypersexual.
They will often have riskysexual encounters with many,
many people, sometimes peoplethat are in a manic bipolar
episode, will gamble.
Sometimes they anything thatcan be impulsive and risky
oftentimes we see in manicbehavior, and so you can see how
(13:39):
society just kind of kicksthese kind of people to the
curve that make theseirresponsible decisions and
risky behaviors when they're ina manic state of mind.
If we don't recognize that theycould potentially be in a manic
state of mind and they'remaking these decisions that are
risky and that are reallydestroying their lives, somebody
needs to step in and help them.
(13:59):
If they have some of theseother symptoms of mania
Impulsivity, generally speaking,when it's this risky drug abuse
, all of those things generallycomes with a severe mental
illness like bipolar disorder,mental illness like bipolar
disorder, and so mania, you'llknow mania when you see it,
because it is so different fromthe way the person normally is.
You will know it when you see it.
(14:20):
But it's just this extreme,extreme elevated or irritable
mood that comes with a decreasedneed for sleep, that comes with
this increased self esteem,esteem and comes with these
ideas of grandiosity.
Now, hypermania shares many ofthese symptoms, but they're less
severe and they typically don'tresult in hospitalization.
Remember, the hypomania comeswith bipolar two.
(14:40):
So hypermania shares many ofthese symptoms, but they are
less severe and typically don'tresult in hospitalization or
even a major life disruption,but still they do cause issues
with relationships, they affectwork and all of those things.
It really is easy for us tomiss mania, especially in the
early stages.
But hyper mania can sometimesfeel good, like extra energy or
(15:02):
creativity, but it can quicklyspiral, and so this is when this
is different for the person ordifferent for you, different
from the way you used to be.
If it came out of nowhere atpuberty or in your mid 20s, this
you need to be talking to adoctor about the possibility of
a mood disorder.
If you are suddenly havinghypomanic or manic episodes and
you never had them before, or ifthat's true about somebody you
(15:26):
love, you need to go get someprofessional help and be
evaluated for bipolar disorder.
Now let's talk about thedepression part of bipolar
disorder.
They're both sad, butdepression can oftentimes lead
to suicide, suicide attempts,drug overdoses, all kinds of
things, and so the depressiveside of bipolar disorder is
(15:47):
often described by people whohave it as the hardest part of
it.
Right, because the mania.
These patients often enjoy themania, because they have often
enjoy the mania because theyhave unlimited energy and all
the things, and even though theyusually make horrible decisions
, and mania is not as bad forthem as the depressive episodes,
of course, the persistentsadness or emptiness, just
(16:08):
fatigue, loss of energy.
I feel worthless, I feelhopeless, I can't concentrate,
and thoughts of death or suicide, and of course that list could
be deep and wide.
For the depressive side ofbipolar disorder, unlike regular
depression or major depression,this bipolar depression often
comes in cycles, and so it'll bea depressive episode with a
(16:30):
manic episode, a depressiveepisode with a manic episode, a
depressive episode with a with amanic episode, and we call this
cycling.
And sometimes it happens veryquickly, unexpectedly and
without warning.
So you can imagine being thesepatients being high, high, high,
low, low, low, high, high, high, low, low, low, and this can
happen in the course of 24 hours, over and over and over.
These people are sufferingy'all and we got to make sure we
(16:55):
remove the stigma from bipolardisorder and we understand that
this is literally a chemicalimbalance in their brain and can
be fixed with medication,therapy, behavioral therapy, all
kinds of ways we can help,especially in the depressive
modes.
This is when we see suicidalideations.
This is when we see patientstake their lives in these deep,
deep, deep depressive episodes.
(17:18):
So what are the causes and therisk factors of bipolar disorder
?
I just kind of mentioned it.
Mostly genetic Researchsuggests, though, that it is a
mix of genetics, the brainstructure, chemistry and even
environmental factors liketrauma or high stress, and we're
going to talk about that herein a few minutes.
If you have a parent with, or asibling with, bipolar disorder,
(17:39):
your risk increases.
But one area getting a lot ofattention is how trauma is
related to bipolar disorder, ourbody's stress response system.
People with bipolar disorderdisorder almost always have
histories of childhood trauma,and studies show how this can
affect mood regulation andbiological stress responses,
meaning that as the braindevelops when there's childhood
(18:00):
trauma, I've said so many timeson this podcast that trauma
changes the brain and it canchange the brain to the tune of
a bipolar diagnosis.
In the absence of genetics orbrain structure issues, that
could clearly be theenvironmental factors, meaning
stress can change the chemistryof the brain to be a bipolar
(18:20):
brain, and that for this podcastand for me.
If you know me, you know thattrauma is my jam, as I am
receiving a doctorate degree intrauma and community care.
I think that we allcollectively need to take a
breath and go and think aboutchildren who are suffering
trauma and, if you haveinfluence on their lives, trying
(18:41):
to change the story, like whathappened with me.
By the way, I'm very fortunatethat I don't have a severe
mental illness like bipolardisorder because of the level of
trauma, but it was because ofGod's people that came alongside
of me and stood in gaps for methat my brain is okay, but many,
many people are not.
(19:02):
Diagnosing bipolar disorder canbe very complicated.
It is often often misdiagnosedas major depression.
That is what we call theunipolar meaning.
There's no mania with it, andso bipolar, especially bipolar 2
, where we just get thehypomanic episodes and not the
mania bipolar 2 can go unnoticedfor many, many years.
(19:23):
So it's very important to workwith a psychiatrist and or a
clinical psychologist, and maybeeven your therapist.
I have a listener who messagedme some time ago and said that
their doctor diagnosed them withbipolar disorder.
Of course, I'm not their doctorand I'm not talking to that
patient, but it seemed like amisdiagnosis to me, and so a
proper diagnosis can take a lotof time.
(19:43):
We need to see the cycling ofthe mania, the cycling of the
depression, and when we, if wedon't see that for a significant
amount of time, then we reallycan't diagnose bipolar disorder.
And so it is a process to bediagnosed with bipolar disorder.
There is DSM criteria for it,but there's also our eyes and
ears that we're watching thesepatients to see.
Are they dealing with majordepression?
(20:05):
Are they dealing with trauma?
Are they dealing with bipolardisorder?
And are they dealing withbipolar disorder as a result of
important brain changes thathappen as a result of their
trauma?
If you are wondering whetheryou or someone you know might
have bipolar disorder, you needto trust your instincts, trust
the process, find doctors thatwill evaluate and evaluate deep
(20:28):
and wide, not just with the DSMbut with behavioral observations
, talking to family members,evaluating labs and blood work,
and all of that because bipolardisorder is a disorder that
qualifies for social securitydisability.
I see patients like this everyday in the hospital who can't
live normal lives because ofuntreated bipolar disorder, and
(20:49):
so it is a serious mentalillness.
It is a serious diagnosis butit takes time.
But the good news is is thepatients I see at the hospital
are not treating their bipolardisorder.
They are often not medicinecompliant.
Medicine is the number one waywe treat bipolar disorder.
One of the oldest medicinesthat we have to do this is
lithium as a mood stabilizer, soit's going to stop that manic
(21:12):
depressive cycling.
Antipsychotics, and sometimesantidepressants though these
will be used carefully, but weuse antipsychotics to keep the
mood level so that we're notcycling between depression and
cycling between mania.
Obviously, psychotherapy youknow I was going to say that
modalities like cognitivebehavioral therapy is a great
(21:33):
one.
Making sure that patientsunderstand and make sure you
understand how to manage thesymptoms.
Stress the importance of sleep.
Don't forget the routine oflife is important when treating
any severe mental illness.
This is the part of the episodewhere I want you to hear,
though, that bipolar disorderdoes not mean the end of a
meaningful life.
(21:53):
Okay, I opened the podcast witha fictional story of Jonah, who
has bipolar disorder, and Icreated him from the fact that
we know that the most was.
Some of the most resilient,creative and insightful people
that I have ever met have livedwith this diagnosis.
(22:15):
Some of the most artistic,creative, smart, brilliant
people are also living withsevere mental illness, but with
the right support, many peoplego on to have normal lives,
families, careers.
We can talk about the science,we can talk about the symptoms,
but the heart of it is thiswe're talking about people,
people who matter, people whocan heal, people who can thrive.
(22:40):
Because with bipolar disorder,you are not your diagnosis.
You are more than thedepression, you are more than
the mania, you matter, your painmatters, your mental health
matters.
If you're under the sound of myvoice and you're like huh, yeah
, I know what she's talkingabout when she says manic and
guys, if you've ever been manic,you know what I'm talking about
(23:01):
.
If you've ever been aroundsomebody, it's like you know,
you just know, I don't, I don'twant to be, I don't want to
explain it because I don't wantto color what you think, but but
mania is tough and certainly ifyou've ever been around anybody
in the throes of deep, deepdepression, you know, you know,
and so there is ways to help you.
(23:22):
We can talk about the scienceand the symptoms, like I said,
but people matter, people canheal and people can thrive, and
you can help people heal outthere as you come in contact
with people, because you orsomebody you know or somebody
that you come alongside of isnot just a diagnosis of bipolar
disorder.
They are more than their highsand their lows.
(23:43):
People ask me all the time whatcan I do to help people?
I love somebody with bipolardisorder and I know what many of
you are thinking because I canread it across the airways.
But they don't believe theyhave bipolar disorder.
That might be true and that isa whole nother podcast for
another day because bipolarpatients have some of the most
limited insight into their ownillness and any severe mental
(24:05):
illness.
And when I say that againbecause I can read your minds
over the airwaves I knowsomebody with bipolar disorder,
but they won't admit that theyhave bipolar disorder.
People with bipolar disorderhave the least amount of insight
of almost any severe mentalillness, second only to
schizophrenia.
So of course they don't know.
You have to listen to withcompassion.
(24:26):
Listen to them with compassion.
Listen to them without judging.
Of course you're doing.
One of the things is educateyourself about bipolar disorder
by listening to this podcastepisode.
Help your loved one, get tosomebody to evaluate them and
then, once they're evaluated, ifthey are diagnosed, help them,
make sure they stay on theirmedicine, take them to the
(24:48):
doctor, be their accountabilitybecause again, patients with
bipolar disorder will start totake their medicine.
Guess what happens?
They feel fine, no mania, nodepression, and they think, hey,
I feel fine, I don't need totake my medicine.
And that, my friends, is thecrux of the hardest part of
(25:09):
living with bipolar disorder ismedicine compliance, and so if
you are living with somebodywith bipolar disorder, whether
that's diagnosed or not, youhave to understand that they
have a road in front of them.
They have to stay on themedications.
Now, we do have somemedications for particular types
of bipolar disorder, becausethere are subtypes that I'm not
(25:30):
boring you with, but there arewhat's called long acting
injectables, and these are shotsthat we give patients that
struggle with medicinecompliance, because they stop
taking it when they feel better.
And basically, I tell patientsall the time you only have to
make a good decision to takeyour medicine once every 30 days
, and so if you or somebody youlove wants to talk to your
(25:52):
doctor about this, you want touse the term long acting
injectable.
Okay, encourage openness withpeople that potentially have a
bipolar disorder, somebody thatyou love.
Don't force it, though.
Okay, use a little bit ofpeople skills with people.
Let them know you love them,lead with compassion, lead with
concern, lead with curiosity andget them the help they need.
(26:14):
Recovery doesn't mean cured,though.
It does mean that they'restable.
It means that they can be selfaware.
It means that we give them,through cognitive processing
therapy, a toolbox of copingskills.
It means we give them communitywe talk about community a lot
on this podcast.
It means that we give themgrace.
Recovery, for bipolar disorderis a winding road, and what you
(26:36):
need to know is that it's okayto stumble, because you will
stumble, or somebody you knowwill stumble.
What matters, though, is thereturn to wellness, the
willingness to keep going.
The last episode that wedropped here and you can just go
back one was about Jesus, whenhe talked to the man, the
paralytic man, who had beensitting by the pools of Bethesda
for 38 years.
He said Do you even want to getbetter?
(26:59):
Because you see, if you orsomebody you know has bipolar
disorder, the secret sauce isthe tiny bit of desire to get
better, to get well.
We can do a lot with thosepatients, so, as we wrap today's
episode, I want you to rememberthat bipolar is part of
someone's story.
It's not their story.
It's not who they are.
It can be a brutal illness.
(27:21):
It can mean multiplehospitalizations over their
lifetime, but can also awakenthem to incredible strength when
they realize that thecreativity and some of the
things that go along withbipolar disorder often makes
them superstars.
To those of you listening whoare in the trenches, you know
what I'm going to say there ishope, you are not alone, you are
(27:43):
not broken and you are notbeyond help.
To those of you who love peoplewith bipolar disorder, thank
you, because you are part of thehealing.
If this episode spoke to you, Iwould love it if you would
share it with somebody who mightneed it, because this is
something that we don't talkabout a lot.
We don't talk a lot about onpodcasts.
(28:04):
We throw big words out atpeople, but the bottom line is
is bipolar disorder is adifficult, difficult diagnosis
to live with, but not impossible.
Difficult diagnosis to livewith, but not impossible.
And if we, as the people of Godand as a community of people,
whether these people are in ourchurch, whether they're at our
work, wherever they are, asChristians we are called to
(28:25):
minister to people who arestruggling, and people with
bipolar disorder need us, theyneed the church, they need
non-judgmental attitudes whenthey engage in these risky
behaviors that we often assignpoor morals to, and so they need
you to love them, they need youto look at them and say what
(28:47):
I've been saying to all of youfor five years you are seen, you
are known, you are heard, youare loved and you are so valued.
That's what all people need,but particularly people in the
throes of mania and then deepdepression, and then mania and
then deep depression.
(29:07):
This is a severe mental illnessand it needs to be talked about
more, and so I encourage you.
If you have any questions andpeople have actually been taking
advantage of this lately rightthere in your podcast app is a
link that says send me a textmessage, and if you have any
questions for me, I will answerthem to the best of my ability.
I do encourage any of you thatthink that you or somebody you
(29:30):
love might have bipolar disorderthat you consider going to get
some help, because help is there.
Guys, we are going to be back intwo weeks.
We are in the summer, and so wewill see what this brings for
us in terms of the podcast.
By way of just updates, I amwhere am I?
(29:51):
I am at the part of mydissertation where my proposal
was accepted, and I will bedefending that proposal, which
is the first half of thedissertation, on June, the 13th,
and then we will be on to thesecond half and hopefully by
October, you all will be callingme Dr Watson, I presume.
Until then, I'll be back in twoweeks.
(30:13):
Please reach out to me in anyof the ways Instagram or on text
through your podcast app, or,if you know me for real, you can
obviously send me a textmessage.
But I hope that you guys allfound this helpful and remember
you are seen, you are known, youare heard, you are loved and
(30:45):
you are so, so valuable In thefight of your whole life.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
You work twice as hard To get half as far.
Nobody knows the hero you are.
I want you to know the hero youare If you ever start doubting,
when it's hard to keep hoping.
(31:17):
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you
when you're tired of fightingand you feel like you're broken.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you.
(31:40):
Look how far you've come, whatyou've already done.
I want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you.
I believe in you Whenever youforget.
I'll say it all again If youever start doubting, when it's
(32:12):
hard to keep hoping.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you
when you're tired of fightingand you feel like you're broken.
I just want you to know that Ibelieve in, I believe in you, I
(32:37):
believe in, I believe in you.
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