Question:

Hi,

I've been struggling with my church… on the legitimacy of Bipolar disorder.  I've known several people who have been really hurt by the church's position, which matches yours.

Would you be willing to share with me what the true success has been with your approach, with real people who have a real diagnoses?  I would be very eager to know if you have had any.

What you say has some truth to it.  However, I am a bit hesitant when people who have no real experience with the disease want to pass pretty heavy judgment on those who actually have it.  On the other hand, if God is simply waiting for me to repent and I'll be healed of my illness - real or false - I'd be willing to do so, and trust in the Lord's provision.

I can tell you I certainly have been seeking the Lord, in deep repentance for many years, and I still struggle with the problem, just as fresh as it was the day I was diagnosed 15 years ago, and before I was diagnosed.  I'm still waiting for it to magically go away because I've turned my life over to Jesus.  God has led me through many stages, and a lot of healing.  But the problem remains real and tangible.

I appreciate you might have had many letters like this.  Bottom line, your approach hurts people.  And the acceptance of it in the church bars many real, actual people from seeking the help they desperately need through the Lord, in church.

Would you be willing to share with me about this?  I would be thrilled to know that there is a better way, and happy to take the Lord's leading on it, if what you say is true.

Answer:

Thanks for emailing us and for your patience in waiting for a reply. Can you describe the problems you are experiencing in more detail? Without much understanding of your past diagnosis and how you got it, as well as your present struggles, it is difficult to give you details that could help. But we can address the issue in more general terms if that helps...

We would be careful to measure approaches by whether or not they are "successful." Sometimes the biblical road is "successful" from a horizontal point of view, but other times taking the biblical road is full of suffering and pain and looks terrible from the horizontal, but gives God glory and creates Christlikeness in us. God's purpose for us is to sanctify us and prepare us for an eternity with Him, not necessarily to be happy and comfortable and problem-free.

Having said that, we believe God does want to produce the fruit of the Spirit in us, which includes love, peace and self-control - three qualities lacking in many bipolars. In that sense, the biblical approach is successful in producing good fruit and a level mind.

Let us give some background on bipolar. What many people don't realize is that much of what you hear in the media about disorders like bipolar and the drugs that treat them is false.

The field of psychiatry's chemical imbalance theories have convinced the world that mental disorders are medical/physical in nature, so we should see a psychiatrist just like we see any other medical doctor. But to date, none of the 374 mental disorders of DSM-IV have been found to be caused by chemical imbalances in the brain--this would include schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, anxiety, etc. None of these disorders have ever been proven to be "organic brain diseases."

But the psycho-pharma complex has used the chemical imbalance theory to sell disorders and drugs to people, and it's working, even without a lab test proving to the doctor and patient that a chemical imbalance actually exists.

Bottom line--psychology and psychiatry are philosophies, not sciences. The Apostle Paul warns us of following the world's philosophies because it cheats, plunders and spoils us from the life God desires for us:

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

He goes on to tell us that we're complete in Christ--we don't psychology and psychiatry:

Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Now that's not to say that bipolar isn't real--it is. It's just not caused by a brain imbalance. It could be caused by sin/rebellion/walking in the flesh, God's judgment, lifestyle choices (bad diet, no exercise, lack of sleep, stress, etc.), demons, a true medical problem like a brain tumor or hypothyroid, etc.

We've written in past newsletters about bipolar and the difference between mind doctors who treat the mental and medical doctors who treat the physical. Here are some links along these lines with more detail than we've gone into here:

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0508_Q&A.htm  (mental vs. physical)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0510_home.htm (Q&A, Letters--success story)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0607_home.htm (whole issue)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0608_home.htm  (sixth item)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0701_home.htm (first three items)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0704_home.htm (first two items)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0707_home.htm (fourth item and Q&A)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0709_home.htm (whole issue--including success story)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0710_home.htm (second and fifth items)

http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0711_home.htm (third, fourth and fifth items)

One thing these links don't mention is that bipolar-like symptoms may be a result of the side effects of psychiatric drugs like antidepressants (or could also be withdrawal symptoms if being discontinued). You can learn about the side effects and withdrawal symptoms of many common psychiatric drugs here:

The book Your Drug May Be Your Problem by psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin (get at Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Your-Drug-May-Problem-Psychiatric/dp/0738203483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/002-7973269-5107233?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177384313&sr=8-3)

Physician's Desk Reference (free info available at http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html).

If you are on psych drugs and wish to get off of them, see this link for many psychiatric drug withdrawal sites, containing info written by medical doctors to help get off of these drugs: http://www.psychologydebunked.com/drugwithdrawal.htm

Remember, "feeling better" isn't the goal, but becoming more sanctified and separated unto the Lord for His earthly and eternal purposes. See http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0705_home.htm.

God can use suffering like what you are experiencing to draw you closer to Him. Taking shortcuts to ease the pain doesn't allow God to accomplish His will for your life, and it doesn't glorify Him. Sometimes God calls us to carry the cross - it hurts and it's painful but this is frequently God's way of doing a work in us, and in the end we're better people because of it.

We hope this helps you see the truth behind the symptoms you are experiencing. We do this ministry not to hurt people, but to see hurting people healed and not held in bondage to a mental disorder label and lifelong drug dependence.

Let us know if you would like to talk after reviewing the above links. We would be happy to speak with you and hopefully be the Lord's mouthpiece to speak to your heart.

In Christ,

Ryan and Lisa Bazler

www.psychologydebunked.com

P.S. We believe we are preventing people from killing themselves and others by publishing information the doctors and drug co's want to hide. See http://www.ssristories.com/index.php for a list of thousands of violent acts, many of which were committed by completely normal people who started taking SSRI antidepressants and lost their minds.