Last year, a Mum of two kids in her thirty’s came to see me. She had been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder some 5 years previously. She had been in and out of St. John of Gods Hospital over the 5 years, and every few months saw a psychiatrist, mostly a different one, who prescribed drugs for her.
This is what she told me “My life is manic, full of dramatic highs and lows, by the stigma of this “disease”, and family and friends trying to make decisions for me, assuming that I am incapable of making my own decisions”.
Her behaviour led to all sorts of problems. She felt that she had no control over her life. And so, after seeing many different professionals to no avail, she came to see me as a last resort, after her mother picked up one of my leaflets somewhere.
It was obvious from the first visit that she was an intelligent and articulate women, who proceeded to tell me, at a very fast pace, what was happening in her life. After getting the bones of the story, I explained to her how the nature of thought works, for all of us, as a fact of life.
She listened, quietened down, and started to understand, as I explained to her, very gently, slowly and simply, how everything that she told me that was happening, was in fact happening from thoughts, that she was creating in her own mind.
As she started to see this, her wisdom came to the surface, and you could see the distinct shift that was taking place within her. All of a sudden there was hope, and you could see the life-force that was bubbling up from the inside of her.
These are the moments that make my job so worthwhile.
She then wanted to know more. She learned how each and every one of her thoughts directly create the feelings and the emotions that she is experiencing every moment of every day, that in turn, lead and cause her to behave in the ways that she does.
She learned that she can choose the thoughts that she wants, after all she is making them all up, just follow the good feeling, it’s telling you that you are on track. It’s that simple.
She also learned that she is not “broken” and that wellness and peace of mind are the default settings within her, and automatically turn up the more she “took her foot of the pedal”, quieten down, and make the “common sense” decisions that are a result of a calm mind.
She came to see me for a few more sessions and her life just got better and better, more stable, less drama, more just normal family stuff.
People have inbuilt common sense, they know when something feels right. Common sense feels right, all the time. And when we make decisions based on the common sense that comes with a good feeling, we go with the flow and life gets easier.
This is the resilience that is hard wired within us all, built into the system to help us bounce back into life, and enjoy more, living with a calmer mind. There are so many of us out there suffering needlessly from the likes of Anxiety, Depression, Insecurity, Panic, Fear, Anger and all those other negative emotions. They are all, every one of them, literally, one thought away from feeling better in any moment.
There is no such thing as addiction to any substance, from alcohol to drugs or to any behaviour like Gambling or Sex. The only problem that these people have is a problem with their thinking.
What I’m saying in a nutshell is that the only thing that creates our emotions, feelings and cravings is our thinking, and nothing else, full stop.
Now this is not what you will hear from the mainstream, as we have all grown up with an innocent misunderstanding about what really causes our emotions and feelings.
This is the missing link that the fields of Psychology and Psychiatry have missed up until now. This understanding is small and narrow, but the ramifications are endless.
I’m pleased to say that this young lady with that so called “bi polar disorder” is very well today, and making very good decisions in her life. Her dreams have now become a reality, and she is relocating with her family to a beautiful house in the countryside.
She told me that “I have the confidence, mental stability and peace of mind to enjoy an enriched new beginning with my fiancé and children, and I deserve this”. She also said that “If I had not come to see you, I would more than likely have ended up back in hospital due to others taking control of my life”.
For anyone who would like to read the resulting conversations that took place when the lady in the story above commented, in her own name, please check out my page facebook.com/miltonclinicireland
She has been back to her psychiatrist in St John of Gods hospital, and he has said that she can now come off medication.
She told me that the other day when she rang me and said that she had a wonderful Christmas and new year. How cool is that?