Mediation. Medication. Meditation.

Mediation – the importance of prayer support and share support cannot be overstated. This is by far the most practically overlooked aspect of my Battle Plan of Fighting with Bipolar. The term mediation speaks to the idea of intervening in another’s affairs to provide assistance. It is vital for all people to make it a habit to daily intervene in the life of others. The greatest mediation that brings immediate alleviation to my personal struggles is counseling, communing and caring for others. Sharing life with others, not just laments, helps to lighten the load of a laboring mind. This means that sometimes the greatest therapy is going to the gym with a friend, grabbing a coffee with a colleague, or calling an old college teammate. In moments of great distress it is great to have a network of friends that can lend support. If you only have one or two trusted friends then you may run the risk of exhausting them. If you build a large team of trusted friends you can call on them sporadically and receive the help you need. To build a large network of friends: share life with others. Care big for others. Laugh loud with others. Listen well to others.

Medication – anything and everything that you put into your body to breed health and wellness is considered medication in my mind. Since bipolar is an illness that most, like myself, will take brain-altering and body-altering prescribed drugs to treat, it is imperative that we are proactive in the foods that we eat and the schedule that we keep. Back in August of 2024 I wrote a 200-page book over the course of a 60-Day Challenge I participated in at Hardcore Fitness. I won the challenge losing 47-pounds in those 60 days and I completed the book, E.t.c.h. E.a.c.h. I.n.c.h. More on the book below. However, at the end of the 60-Day challenge is when I received my $20,000 raise at work, followed by a pink slip ten days later.

The anxiety of being jerked around so carelessly and losing my position so abruptly has led me to put the weight back on. However, starting today I am seeking to put the principles of the book to use and see if they are able to counteract the weight gains and mental fog that comes with losing a job and being placed on a mood stabilizer. I will continue on the medication that has brought my current weight back to 301 pounds and I will seek to restore my health through the eating and living habits I practiced while writing Etch Each Inch. I invite you to follow my journey on my posts entitled Daily Disciplines.

Meditation – anything and everything that I put into my mind throughout the day. This is the lynchpin of my battle with bipolar. In the days when I awaken with the Lord and spend the first two to three hours in prayer and seeking His face through His Word are always more fruitful and more enjoyable. I make it my aim not only to meditate on verses of what not to do, or what to do in order to overcome a battle in my mind, I also make it my aim to meditate on verses of purposes and principle. Isaiah 50:4 says, “Morning by morning he awakens my ear to hear as the learned, that I might have a Word to speak to him in a weary season.” God wakes us up so that we can speak up for Him that day to others that are in a weary season.

If you are interested in getting a free, unpublished at this point, copy of the 200-page book, E.t.c.h. E.a.c.h. I.n.c.h. then send a text to 386-406-7089 with your email address and I will send it to you.