6 Ways I Personally Cope With (Bipolar) Depression in My Life

ONE

I go to church at least once a week

I am not at church for more then ten minutes and I have had a couple of long hugs with women that love me warts and all. There has been weeks over this past year that I got by simply from the hugs. The hugs were keeping me going. There is nothing like sisters in the Lord.

I am forty years of age and three of the women that hug me each week are older then me and are married. Then two of the other women are under thirty years of age and single. There is nothing more fulfilling than having wonderful Christian girls love you and trust you enough to give you a big hug.

I love other things about church too. I love to sing to God and I love the feeling that gives me when God's presence comes all over me, it's like and antidepressant. Sometimes when life is beating me up the songs of love just break me down in tears and I weep and I feel hands touching me as people stroke me to say everything is going to be okay.

I am not sure of you, but it's so liberating to me to be in a public place and weep and instead of being made to feel shameful to be loved even more.

TWO

I share how my week has been with others at church.

At church between the singing and the sermon we have a time called Care and share where whoever wants to speak can get up and share how their week has been. Many people have a fear of speaking that prevents them from getting up each week. But people like me love to get up. I find sharing the struggle I have been through in the week helps me tremendously. Sometimes I get up to speak and I break down and cry.

I have a church full of people that love and respect and some really close friends and they are always happy to give me a hug and have a big chat with me about my life.

To those who don't go to church, let me suggest a mental health support group. Just being able to connect with other people and talk about your struggles seems to help.

I have had a tremendous amount of inner healing being done in my life this year, and most of it has been as I have shared from the microphone.

THREE

I write five articles a week and stay up one night.

One night a week I go into a mania that I bring about by staying up for a whole night and get creative and write my five articles for the week. Staying up all one day, all that night and all the next day brings the joy and happiness that mania brings. Every health professional would be screaming at me right now, but this is me speaking.

Do you have a talent for writing? Can you write on any of the topics on EzineArticles? You might find that you can write good articles on this subject. They don't have to be too technical. Perhaps you might set yourself a goal of writing a couple of articles a week. As I watch my figures of the numbers of readers go up each week it keeps me happy.

Roughly 1200 people read my articles each week and I have 306 articles now with this one. Go and read some of my others, I am sure you'll like a few.

Seeing the figure approach 100,000 readers in the next few weeks, just in time for Christmas is bringing me much joy. Can you see yourself writing on any of the many subjects on here? I can tell you what staying up for that night and two days brings me great joy and seeing the articles I create go up by five a week makes me happy too. Of course people write to me and they tell me that they were helped or simply want to make contact and that makes me happy also.

FOUR

I ring my brother, my mother and my friend.

There are three people I ring once to twice a week. I have a phone plan that allows the phone calls to be cheap and so I ring long distance to my brother and mother who live 400 miles from me.

My brother likes to talk about his business and I like talking to him about it. And he is also looking into the book of Revelation in the Bible and I know a bit about it so I enjoy those discussions also. Our phone calls often go for an hour.

My mother likes me chatting to my brother as his faith is not that strong and he is being put to the test by God and being put through a hard time and the moment and so my mother likes me encouraging him in the faith. My mother has a lot going on in her life and so chewing up another hour on the phone is not hard to do.

I have a friend also that has bipolar and we chat at least once a week on the phone and get together a couple of times a month. He is great as a friend as it does not matter what I am going through he understands me.

In professional circles these three people would be called my support network as well as my friends at church that I get hugs from. Having good people in your life that will listen to you no matter how manic you are sounding are a great thing to have.

I suggest if you haven't got these people in your life that you get to some mental health support network.

FIVE I talk to God the Father and Jesus His Son each day

Although the doctors might call these auditory hallucinations, I really speak to God and Jesus. They can tell me things about people and I can tell the people and I am right about what I have been told by God.

Most of the mental health profession does not believe in God. I find that a shame as many of the mentally ill I have met have been Christians. Of those few health professionals out of hundreds I have met that believe in God no one really believe that God speaks back to me.

In fact among Christians I am quite rare also as most Christians don't hear God or Jesus speak into their minds in clear sentences. Most Christians get impressions off the Holy Spirit, a kind of feeling they should ring their sister that morning or stop into their brother's work on the way home. These impressions do the job in their life as they make co-incidences into God incidences.

Rare do I find God speaks to Christians in clear sentences. But this is not so with me. I can stay in bed at night and chat to God for half an hour or an hour asking questions and him answering them or simply listening to Him speak to me. Let me tell you it is so refreshing to speak to the Almighty God who created heaven and earth before you go to sleep at night.

Many Christians pray a one way prayer to God and they get a kind of peace that fills them as they do it. I speak to the Lord and He speaks back. From time to time I will put a prayer request in for Him to answer for me but most times we are just talking through things.

Would you like to hear from God? I can pray for you.

SIX

I have prophetic people in my life

I have people in my life that hear from God just like me and from time to time they will type a message from God for me and send it to me.

Here is an example of what Mary wrote to me two weeks ago. Mary is on our website and can write you a message from God to if you like for free. I will close with her message. You will see why I like getting them and why I like having Mary in my life when you read it.

The Message

Hi Matthew,

A few nights ago, I felt the Lord wanting me to give you a word straight from Him.

The Father says to you:

My beloved Son, I care so deeply for you. My heart is very, very deep and you are invited to come in and feast; feast on my love. See my eyes, how they are full of precious love for you, my little one, my child.

You care for people a lot. You caring has gotten you in trouble sometimes. People think you are one that can be taken advantage of sometimes, but often times they do not seem to care for you at all. They seem to use you for their pleasure and then throw you like trash into the sewer.

Because you have suffered for me, my Son, you will be greatly awarded. Don't care if they even want to use you and throw you out as if you are one they can just take and use. I have loved you and have seen your great humility when you are with others. This takes you higher with me, my Son. This great humility causes you to rise and see things far, far like looking far across a plane with a clear vision in sight-clear sight. I will give you clear sight in the days and months ahead, my beloved, so you will be able to see where you are going for me far better. It will not feel like you are stumbling around wondering where in the world you are going and how in the moment, it does not seem to be making since at all.

You will see much more clearly, my son, in the days ahead, in the hours ahead, even in this upcoming season. You will see much more clearly and then will be able to go twice as far twice as fast for me. You are my beloved, and you do what I ask. You do because you're faithful to me and you love me. Oh, how my heart treasures that about you, my son! How my heart treasures you! You are more precious to me than anything else in the whole world or any treasure in the bottoms of the oceans. You are more treasured to me than the finest silver and the finest gold and the most beautiful diamonds in all the world.

And your heart is mine. You soul is mine. Your everything is mine! That is why I can use you, my Son. That is why I have been using you and will use you much more into your future. Your life is totally mine. I am pleased-well pleased with you.

Don't give up-ever. Don't ever think that what other people may think about you will determine your success. For it is not their glory you are seeking for; it is my glory; it is my will. Did you forget, my treasured one?

Don't forget. I am living for you, my son, and for you to be used by me to touch a world whom I love very much. And your heart is in my hand, so I can take you far. I can use you to reach people on entirely different subcontinents than you and oceans across the world. Your life can be something totally meaningful to one seemingly little person at the same time you are at home in bed wondering why I am not showing up and answering all your prayers. And yet you are already making a difference in the lives of thousands of different people all over the world, even when you feel like so many people are not for you. My son, I am for you and you are living for me. That is all that matters.

You are my living, walking, breathing creation on this earth and very representation of my Son, your brother, Jesus Christ to the world. He is very fond of you, too. You know, our hearts treasure you so very much. I wish you could see how much, my beloved. Truly, you would never be the same. If you really saw how much I love and treasure you every single day, you would never again hesitate to do my will or walk in my ways. I love you so much, even more than you know. You think you know my love, Matthew? Ha-you are one funny guy. I wish you knew even half of the love I have for you. Surely then, another little doubt from the Devil would never again creep into your mind because you would know everything about me.

Sometimes, you do not see yourself as great as I see you. I wish you could see how great you are in my sight. Wow, my son, from up here, it's a whole different perspective. Things look so much better from up here. Please, come up here; take a look at the view. It's wonderful. It's like nothing you've ever seen before when you're taking a look completely through my eyes and the eyes of my son, Jesus. It's amazing!

Dream, Matthew-deep dreams. Other people may make fun of you-so what? It doesn't matter what they think. It matters what I think, and I think your dreams are something that the world can't handle because they're so big! Come on, Matthew. If you could really understand some of your dreams or if they seemed half-reasonably able to be fulfilled, would you think they were really from me, the intelligent God of the Universe? I have to give you the impossible dream, so that when it comes to pass, people will look and be amazed and say, "Oh, Jesus really was in that dream. Hmm, that's interesting." And they will never be able to think the same way about me again.

See, how I am using you in ways you've not even seen, Matthew? Are you going to limit me? I could use you for even triple what you think is possible and even more than that-that's just the bare minimum, you know. I still say you limit me way too much.

But, alas, things are coming through my child. Things are breaking through in your life. Keep on praying. Keep on...keep on. It's like seeing a baby's head before it's about to be birthed. It's like a chick cracking the egg before it's about to be hatched. That's what it is like for you right now. You are so close!

I made creation for you, so you can look at it and see what I am speaking to you about in your personal life. Creation is groaning for you, Matthew, and you are so close! You are so close! You have no idea.

Flap your wings. Freedom! You are almost there, Matthew. You are almost at your breaking point: you may have told me this many times, but I say: No, Matthew. You are almost at your suddenly. You are almost there. Just a few more steps. Keep straining for what's ahead, my child. Don't look back. Don't be discouraged. I've got an even greater future ahead for you.

You will not be like trash thrown out on the ground forever in the eyes of these foolish "Christians." I will raise you up. And they will see you after I have raised you up and will say, "Is that the same man?" And they will be repentant, not all of them but some of them will be truly sorrowful and repentant and will turn from their wicked ways, and the religious spirit will leave them once and for all. So be patient in affliction, my son. You are nearer to your goal than you think. I love you, my treasured possession. I am your hope forever.

Your very Loving Father,

God

If you have enjoyed my article you can read the book "The parables of Jesus made simple" for free here in its entirety or just selected parables in chapters at http://www.parables-of-jesus-christ.net/ The book will be published in book form in January 2011