She was a good friend helping me through some dark times. I never forgot that. I had been busy with work in another state when I got the news that she had shot herself to death in front of her husband. I was crushed that there had been opportunities for me to have seen her prior to her death, but I failed to follow through. Now when I think of her my mind flashes to when we danced the night away in front of Ray Washington Jr. at Disneyworld. She would always be alive again in that ethereal moment, my precious friend with the funny genius mind.

With a big heart for all the so-called “bi-polar disorder” sufferers, and peripheral family, this is a message for your soul. This word also goes directly to the vastly uninformed and biased public. I went through it all aspects of this disorder, the bewilderment, the pain, the headaches, the stigma, the rage, the fistfights, the hospitals, the sexual addiction, the shrinks, the drugs, and the serious suicide attempt. I lived with this disorder from the time I was a teen when it surfaced, until my early thirties. In spite of always being high functioning with the illness, I wanted my life back.

I have not suffered with bi-polar since 33 years of age (24 years of freedom!), because I came to the end of an amazing cycle of searching for my answer, which I found with God. That’s right, I just said I have not suffered with the bi-polar disorder since 1993, because God healed me and the doctors were forced to admit it in 1994. They were amazed by the test results that they had conducted for a solid year. They literally told me, “We are releasing you since we have nothing more to talk about, you are as normal as any of us.” You see, I had to go big to find answers to get away from the doctors, the pills and have a normal life, and I accomplished.

In those 24 years of freedom, I have never been manic or depressed even one day. The people that know me, know of my many personal miracles received from God. My existence defies all reason. You can do this!

You can read about my incredibly visceral rocket ride to healing in Wild Willful Heart. You might as well, since just one of the many reasons it was written was to help bi-polars and anyone else that needs healing. You will realize my methods and from there can craft your own technique for healing for ANY illness, but that method will only come from God.

When I was first “diagnosed” with the illness in 1987 at 27 years old, it was both a shock and a relief to me to have some kind of information about what was going on. On the one hand, there was hope that counseling and meds were going to make things better. But I was concerned about the stigma, knowing that most people cannot help themselves but to gossip. I knew that tale bearing is always the way unevolved humans make themselves feel better about how average and pathetic they actually are. Hey, everyone has something wrong with them, which is part of what being human is. We are all in search of a sense of homeostasis from shortcomings. Obviously some are more serious about making themselves whole than others.

The doctors I had were mostly pill pushers getting kickbacks. The pills they propagated were often inducers of suicidal thoughts, destroyers of the liver and kidneys, obviously shortening life span. It continues to this day! The mental health field is still highly experimental from all accounts. Back when I had to deal with these doctors, the public were really just beginning to question things and holistics were just getting big. (There is a way to regulate the illness with supplements). Keep in mind that science and mainstream medicine is always the best knowledge of any age we live in, and that’s all folks. For instance, I have an uncle in his 70s with this great family comedy routine he does about the 1940s, where in those days every little sniffle a child experienced the elders called for a mustard plaster and an enema. Not much of that going on anymore eh? What I saw in my time of the illness, and what is today, shows much more has to be done.

Alas, I finally found this practical conservative Catholic doctor that was just a Godsend. She would give common sense approaches to my replies. Things like, “then don’t do that, do something else”, or “take control and stop that” or “stop thinking that way”. It was all about personal responsibility and controlling yourself. Getting better was about changing focus.

I would not want to go through it again, but like so many incredible life experiences, the disorder made me who I am , the very strong soul that stands up in life, gets the job done, can be counted on, and tells the truth whether anyone likes it or not. I became a person of order through the illness as much as some other disciplines mastered. I told you from the beginning this blog would offer solutions, and I meant it.

Because of the stigma associated with prior “mental illness”, it was not until my book came out this year that many found out about what I had been through in my life. I inherently understood for a long time that it was best that most did not know about some of what I had experienced. Without hubris, the sooner we stop caring what other’s think about us the better off we are. In the publication of my book, I had to sacrifice what people thought of me to help all the bi-polar sufferers out there.

Shocking to some and I don’t care, since if you don’t have the disorder you have no idea the difficulties, none, I always advise the young to hide the bi-polar illness from the general public, not everyone has the right to know everything about you. Trust me, protect yourself from the vicious knuckle draggers, you are going through enough. Know this, you young ones suffer the most with this illness, but it does get better as one ages. This is what they say in the medical community. Stand up and fight, you can do it, help has arrived!

To the Millennials and the younger suffering with mental illness, I imagine this to be a terrible time for you, since 2017 is laden with bold evidence of what many writers have long termed a fruition of “the bi-polar world”. By this time in history, it is widely reported that 1 in 5 persons have the bi-polar disorder, and more are undiagnosed. These facts do not address the many “learned behavior disorders” and other types of illnesses out there untreated. Truly, even for the so-called “normal” people out there, the picture of America and the expanded world is one of remarkable instability. The general public are emotionally colder than ever due to the lack of God, social media being unsocial, lack of historical perspective taught in schools, tech obsessions, liberal programming from universities, media, and entertainment. The pop culture is lacking any true aspirational uplift, instead promoting the disgusting moral decline. It has created a loser mentality of a self-obsessed matrix of Idiocracy, especially designed to enslave your generation.

You must break the pattern of the herd. You must push forward and achieve education in Christian or common sense higher learning, the military or trade school, and then go to work. Work is what separates you from the victims of society that settle for government checks. (On the other hand, of course, there is a small sector of society that needs these checks). You are not a victim, God gives you the bi-polar illness because you are the strongest souls that can handle anything, until you transcend it. I hope you have good family, friends and a network to give you support with your illness, ones that help you make good decisions. To all my bi-polar brothers and sisters, though I no longer suffer this illness with you, I bring you this lifeline and word of truth.

Please contact me whenever you need at boone@wboonehedgepeth.com

47 Things to Do To Avoid Depression

  1. Pray to Jesus Christ regularly with authentic purpose.
  2. Do not wallow in depression, alter your FOCUS!
  3. Take no illicit drugs, alcohol either not at all or in temperance, and caffeine in moderation.
  4. Exercise daily with at least 10 minutes of heart pumping optimum.
  5. Get at least 15 minutes of sunlight into the eyes each day.
  6. Get real.
  7. Get an outdoor hobby.
  8. Use mineral supplements customized to your biological need.
  9. Stay away from pessimistic people.
  10. Have a tight core of friends (proven over years) that will listen and comprehend.
  11. Avoid late night hours.
  12. Sleep as necessary. 7-8 hours.
  13. Drink organic carrot juice.
  14. Buy a juicer. Use organic vegetables and fruits.
  15. Do not beat yourself up, love yourself without being narcissistic.
  16. Watch life affirming motion pictures.
  17. See a psychologist/psychiatrist if you know you need to.
  18. Until you learn to control yourself, have appropriate meds on hand for traumatic days.
  19. See massage therapists. No new age therapists.
  20. Go swimming, but watch out for the pool chemicals. No ocean or lake swims, too contaminated now.
  21. Ride a bike.
  22. Do not read or watch ANY news, if you know you cannot handle it.
  23. Think about what you are saying and doing before you do it.
  24. Avoid sunburn.
  25. Stay away from Cortisone.
  26. Have mercury fillings in mouth removed.
  27. Caution: Some anesthesia at dental offices trigger the depressive cycle.
  28. Write poetry.
  29. Beat a punching bag.
  30. Go fishing.
  31. Avoid intimate relationships filled with emotional negativity. Keep it light.
  32. Go with a friend or two on short country trips by car. Interchange evenings between a motel and camping.
  33. Go to the mountains for the weekend.
  34. Be long-suffering with children, or stay away from them.
  35. When a harmful thought occurs, shove it out of your mind. DO NOT ENTERTAIN EVIL THOUGHTS, or they will breed.
  36. Stay away from guns and knives until you are in stability.
  37. Do not wear any black unless you feel joyful.
  38. Wear clothes that make you cheerful.
  39. Remember: Most bi-polar persons are in a state of high intuition, follow your inner voice if a person, place, or thing does not feel good and get away immediately.
  40. Accept and present love to others. If you realize humanity’s purpose is to serve others it will take the steady focus off the self, and you will be given the same kindness.
  41. Do not be by yourself when you do not need to.
  42. Do not rebound romantic relations.
  43. Listen to superior uplifting music.
  44. Avoid crowds of strangers.
  45. Think before you articulate. Listen.
  46. Do not eat too much dairy cheese, particularly Bleu.
  47. Get a spouse that is supportive.