Cell-phones used to have only one function. They were hardwired
to operate in one and only one way. Now cell-phones are computers. They serve
multiple purposes and can even be repurposed by downloading new software that
expands their functionality. Cell-phones or any computing machine with these
kinds of capabilities are called universal machines. They can simulate any
computer with a fixed program. In an abstract sense, both you and I are
universal machines. As part of our input we accept data that describes the
operation of other minds. The knowledge that you will encounter here is
precisely of this nature. It is a collection of ways of thinking that you can
“download” that will make up the difference that prescription medication alone
cannot make. I have never been able to by force of will improve my mental
health. There were times in my life when I believed I could. I had a very
strong will before my diagnosis. It subsequently was irrevocably shattered.
Bipolar disorder used to be called
manic-depression. Mania and depression are fairly easy to distinguish between
because they are essentially polar opposites of each other. Thoughts and moods
have a distribution or a shape spread out over time. Some ideas or memories
I’ve discovered are "stored" or only occurred in conjunction with
specific states of mind or moods. I have manic thoughts or depressed thoughts
and mostly won’t remember those thoughts until I am depressed again or manic.
It used to be the case that I would make changes to my soul frequently but then
I couldn’t remember the work that I had done until I found myself in the same
state of mind. Even after years of dedication to my prescription regiment I was
still trying to pick up the pieces of my mind and restore continuity to my
soul. It's humbling to realize that when you go to sleep tonight you
won't be picking up where you left off today.
However, my confidence was
restored when I discovered that I have a saving grace. The universe has blessed
me and you with something very valuable and especially given our circumstance i.e.
that we suffer from mental illness. Intelligence has some kind of protective
effect when it comes to bipolar disorder. As IQ increases the likely hood of
someone who is bipolar needing hospitalization decreases. My experience has
shown me that I can't fight my illness and win, nor can I be proactive and defeat
it with strength of spirit. It seems my only option is to outsmart it! But how
does one handle fixing a broken mind with the very mind that is broken? It’s
not easy but it can be done. The main idea here is to use intelligence not
force and the problems you face will begin to reveal their secrets.
Prescription
medication takes center stage in most of the literature on bipolar disorder.
What I realized I was lacking was medicine in the form of pure thought. There
are no manuals written specifically for my thoughts, no words to show me how to
live with this illness in my mind. From the date of my diagnosis until the day
that I began working on prescription thoughts not my psychiatrist, religious leaders, friends, others
with bipolar disorder, or online sources and books had any ideas to share
regarding what I need to do with my thinking in order to restore continuity to
my soul and gain dominance over my illness. Since no one had produced medicine in the form of words
for me, I decided to do it myself.
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