Latest / Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community / Differently Wired | Bipolar Disorder in Community With Guest Jadon

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Differently Wired | Bipolar Disorder in Community With Guest Jadon · Neighbourly: Real Stories of Care and Community

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What does loving your neighbor actually look like? This
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is Journey with Care, where curious Canadians get inspired to
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love others well through real life stories and honest
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conversations.
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Welcome to another episode of Journey with Care. We are in the midst of
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our series, differently wired in community.
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I'm Johan and I'm on with our co host, Wendi. Hello.
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And we have a special guest. We are actually bringing on my son-in-law, but before
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we introduce him, for those of you that have been following Journey with
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Prayer or wanna follow Journey with Prayer and take our episode
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content from the head to the heart, little 5 minute episodes once a
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week, to help you throughout your week, Head over
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to our show notes, or you can find it on your favorite
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podcast player, Journey with Prayer. Subscribe to that.
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So before we introduce our guest, Wendi, you wanted to recap our previous episodes
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that we've done here in this. Yeah. I'd love to. Differently wired
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in community, we've been discussing with a pastor from
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Calgary, Corinne Thomas. She did a beautiful introductory on
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her work in, special needs ministry and pastoring across
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diversities and different disorders and mental illness and looking at all
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the the exceptionalities that are very common within every church. And
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so if you haven't been following already, I encourage, listeners to go
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listen to that intro. And then last week, we had my husband, Harold
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Park, talk about autism in a personal way and also
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professionally as he is a psychotherapist. So when we're talking about
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differently wired in community, we're looking at all those exceptionalities that are
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common within the church. We often don't see it necessarily. Sometimes we
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do. Sometimes they're visible. But so often, there are
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exceptionalities that we cannot see. We're talking about different neurodiversities
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or disabilities and disorders, mental illness, things that we
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invite the church to consider as they make it
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welcoming and inclusive for all. And today, we're
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gonna be touching a topic about bipolar affective disorder.
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And with us in studio, we do have Jadon, and I'm so
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excited to have you in the podcast. You and I know each other through
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church, and I really appreciate you and your wife and and getting to
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know you well. And before we get started, I just wanna say we
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will be talking about some subjects that are a little weighty
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that we're talking about suicide and depression. And so these are
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considerations that might be triggering for you. I
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want to pre warn you, if you if you do wanna skip this episode,
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but I hope that you'll be inspired by this story as well. But if you
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are struggling with any of these things that may trigger you,
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I do urge you to find help for that. We will have a
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link in the show notes. And Actually,
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Canada has a national support line you can call. It's
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just simply 988 if you're struggling with that. Or if you know someone that's
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struggling with it, they will also take your call. So just wanted to have that
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trigger warning out there and that information. So, hey, Jadon. Why don't
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you talk about why we are having you on the podcast today? I mean, we
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said a little bit about it, but we'll let you use your words. Sure thing.
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I'm really happy to be invited here to join the podcast. I'm
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someone that many would consider to be highly successful. I graduated
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from electrical engineering with a gold medal across all disciplines.
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So that meant that I had the highest GPA across electrical, civil,
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mechanical, computer, all of them. Wow. And they received enough
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scholarships that more than paid for my tuition so that the university was actually paying
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me every year. And I got married right after I graduated
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to the love of my life, Danica, and we're coming up on 2 years being
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married. And after graduating, I joined Anchor Point Church
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about a year and a half ago, and I've also done teaching tracks on
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evangelism, pastoral care, and prophecy. And, also,
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this year in January, I was diagnosed with bipolar affective
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disorder type 1, and that was a significant shift
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in some of my identity, in helping me understand and work
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through this challenge with depression over the last 3 years or
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so. So some might might listen to
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your short biography there and say, wow. This
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guy has it together. He's got living the life. He's got education.
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He's got a wife. He's getting all these scholarships, and things can look
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so beautiful on the outside. And yet how long have
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you been struggling with this bipolar, or was it just
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recently coming up, or is it something that you have
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been living with for a while? For sure. And just
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a a bit of explanation with bipolar because in society, we
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don't really talk about it that much. When I was diagnosed with it, didn't
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know much. I had to do a lot of learning. It's something that is
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biological, but it can also be shaped a bit by your environment growing
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up. However, it's not as though someone could catch bipolar
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disorder, you know, if they're out in the rain too long. So it is a
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biological thing. My brain is shaped differently and has different,
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amounts of gray matter in parts. So it's a challenging thing that
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also doesn't usually develop and start showing up until later in
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life in, like, the adult years. So with that, I would say
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since about definitely COVID, exacerbated it, but I
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was noticing it before COVID primarily at the beginning of
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every semester. I would have extreme stress and be
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depressed for a couple weeks, not leading to suicidal ideation,
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but it was just really hard to deal with that. So, Jadon, looking back
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on your life, how far back can you actually look to see where there were
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some emerging signs of bipolar? I think I could see a little
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bit in 2015, just after I turned 18, and I
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went and did a Bible college, and I did it during the night. And,
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and with that, my sleep was all over the place, and that's one of
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the really big factors with managing bipolar is making sure that you have a
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proper sleep and getting enough. So the fact that my mood was
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quite low for quite a portion of that and trying to make decisions
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or or manage that was really challenging. Yeah. And I'm glad
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that you explained a little bit, educated me a little bit on the
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biology of it, but also sometimes the circumstances that bring
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it about. And I think that is very common for that to
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be noticed around 18 and to your your twenties. That
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is often when people discover these things,
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these exceptionalities about themselves, and
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it really doesn't hit a certain demographic, really. It it can
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affect so many different people in all kinds of professions,
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all kinds of walks of life, and often can be traced, through
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family. I know people in my family that have been affected by it and
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live with it, and it can be traced biologically as well. Can you give us
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a little bit more understanding of bipolar
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effectiveness? Or I know we're not gonna give a clinical definition. People can go
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do their research. But, looking at particularly
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the highs and the lows that you were talking about, what does it look
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like to be in that depressive state? What does it look like to be in
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that manic state? Can you help us understand what are you
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experiencing in both of those those levels?
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Absolutely. For me, I ended up experiencing much more on the
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depressive side rather than on the manic side. For those who aren't familiar with the
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term, manic is like the really high high. So that would be kind
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of depicted in a movie as someone who's really happy and
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energetic and not sleeping, but also making really bad
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decisions. They're wanting to seek risk, going to casinos,
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driving fast on the freeway, a very dangerous activity.
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Yeah. There can be some impulsivity tied to that. Right? And kinda
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grandiose thinking of just like, I'm gonna conquer the world, and I've got
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this. Mhmm. I did experience that once. And what that
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was like for me was honestly one of the happiest moments
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of my life. Tell me about it. I would say God protected me from
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it in a unique way where my fix for it, what I was really
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aiming for was just learning things. That was
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what made me feel so excited and alive. It wasn't getting in the car
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and driving fast or winning money at the slot machine. I went
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to the library and if Danica hadn't stopped me I think I would have bought
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about 12 different books and all sorts of random things. I was like I can
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learn it all and I could take information in, though,
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incredibly quickly. I stayed up all night, and God helped me
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figure out my entire master's thesis in electrical engineering in a new way,
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like a new breakthrough in, like, the middle of the night. And it just came
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to me. Information was just flowing, and it was exciting. I felt alive,
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and it even merged into my prayer time with God. I
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encountered him in a new way at new levels of joy and
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depth. Mhmm. However, for those on the outside, I
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wasn't quite myself, and I was a lot less fun to be around.
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In what way? That sounds like kind of fun. But, I was like,
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the grandiose part of it. I was very focused on myself,
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very impatient with others, not really caring about them as much. I thought
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I was the most important person in the world. So you were
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kinda caught up in your own world of euphoria in in that sense.
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Mhmm. And would that contribute to how well you have done
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academically in your high achievements? Is that part
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of what drove you? For some people.
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Though for me, I only experienced that once, and it was actually because of a
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medication I took. So that wasn't part of my consistent journey Okay. With
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bi polar. On this side of depression, though, the way I
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would describe it was it wasn't as though depression for me
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looked significantly different for others. You know, I was
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lethargic. I didn't wanna go out with people. Things weren't as fun as they used
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to be. I wanted to sleep more, lack of appetite, all the normal
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things. Though what triggered it though
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felt completely random. Mhmm. You know? So if you think of maybe
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someone, like a young kid, and if the friend moves away, they would be pretty
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sad about that. That would be hard. You might not quite say they're depressed,
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but they would have those types of feelings. But it would make sense. Or if
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there's a family member who died, it would be understandable for them to be
10:13
grieving and for them to be experiencing depression.
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But for me, what I experienced was the success,
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everything in my life pretty much has gone so well.
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People liked me. I was loved. You know, I've known Jesus my whole
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life. And then out of the blue, depression.
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And more than depression, they went to, I wanna end my
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life. And, woah, where did that come from? It never made
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sense. So when you're in that depressive
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state, how did you make sense of your spirituality?
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You've known God since you were little and Jesus' joy and,
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just pray more. Are there are there certain things that you had to fight or
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other people you had to fight other people in in sort of these cliche
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responses to your own depression. What was that experience
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like, making sense of your faith in depression? That's
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something that I gained clarity on and healing with God
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after the fact. After the bipolar got under
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control and got the diagnosis and that. During it, I
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was really willing to try anything because things didn't
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work. I would kind of see it as like a storm that could just come
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back at any time, and I'd be robbed of joy. And joy was even
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one of the things that's been spoken over me consistently since
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I was, like, a baby. I've experienced joy. People say, oh,
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you have an amazing smile. Like, I've just been marked by joy
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on one hand, and on the other hand, I have random bouts of
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depression where I can't hear God, feel him, connect
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with him, and I'm wanting, you know, just to curl away
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and not doing anything, which is, like, the opposite of what God has called me
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to do. And that was it was a struggle. And the things that I tried
11:57
was practicing gratitude, you know, commanding,
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you know, demons or, like, thoughts that aren't from God to leave. I
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went actually at my previous church to go get deliverance from
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demons, and repenting and all the things there,
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which was hard afterwards because I thought, okay, I did it.
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It's gonna be gone now. Right? It's this time, it's gonna work for sure.
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And it was for a little bit, and then it came back. And and
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no doubt god can heal and deliver from mental health just like he can
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deliver from a tumor and all kinds of things, and and that doesn't take away
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from the the sovereignty of God. But you
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you hit on something very important, though, that being
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in a depressive state doesn't mean you're far from God. In fact, God
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is near the brokenhearted. Right? Mhmm. And it's not necessarily
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a a demonic thing per se, but it can be a health
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issue that in our depressive state,
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God is there with us, and he is with you
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in in helping you through it. But I have to say, Jadon, and I know
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we haven't known each other for years, but every time I've
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met you, interacted with you, you've been to our house, and and we've
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been at church together, you do not come across as
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a very depressive person. You do, whether it's just practicing,
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joy in these moments or having to wear a
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mask. I don't know, and I'm not judging you for either of them. What
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it tells me, though, and and it's something that for listeners to pay attention
13:27
to, we don't always know the person's going through the valley of the shadow of
13:31
death even though they're sitting right beside us and we're having conversations together. You've
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been very transparent with me. I know it because you told me, and
13:38
you have been walking through that transparently. But just to see you,
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Jadon, you do not come across as a depressive person. Do you
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think there's more people like you within the church, in society
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that are, like, hidden in plain sight? Absolutely.
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I ended up spoiler alert. The way I got my bipolar,
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diagnosis was that I ended up in the psych ward for about 10
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days. And during that time, I met another individual who
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thought he just had depression for 10 years, and
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he then found out he has bipolar disorder because he also ended up in the
14:13
psych ward. And for both of us, it was such a
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relief and so life changing that we weren't to
14:20
blame for our low states. This person wasn't a Christian,
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and in the psych ward in Winnipeg, there is nothing to do.
14:27
You can maybe watch a TV, and that's about it. So we
14:31
just walked laps and laps and laps and shared our stories
14:34
and encouragements for one another, and god reached out to
14:38
us. There was someone that we both needed, you know, each other there
14:42
in the psych ward able to talk about bipolar and how it was
14:46
so challenging thinking it was depression, but finding out it was something
14:49
else that caused depression because the regular medication didn't
14:53
treat it. The normal things to treat depression didn't
14:57
really have the same effect because with bipolar disorder,
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the primary way to treat it is with medication. Mhmm. And
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then there is obviously different therapies that can help with that, But the
15:08
first line of defense isn't talk therapy, and that
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was new to me. Yeah. No. And I think that's important. And that's part
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of destigmatizing what bipolar is all about as
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well. That it's okay to take medication and to seek
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professional help, and there's no shame in that. In fact, if
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I had diabetes, I would want a a
15:29
doctor to give me insulin. Right? And knowing
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what you know now that there's medication, I think that is
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so helpful. Are there some things that prevented you from
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getting diagnosed sooner from getting the professional help? What were
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some barriers that you had to overcome to say, doctor,
15:48
I need help? Yeah. I think the challenge that I faced was similar
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for many who get diagnosed is that we don't
15:56
generally know ourselves, and our general practitioners
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also aren't trained in recognizing bipolar. You know,
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partly they're not observing you enough to see, you know, is this
16:07
your normal highs or your lows? And bipolar
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depression looks just like normal depression, though it usually leads to
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some suicidal ideation which just looks like bad depression, so
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they treat it that way. So I didn't know. My doctor didn't
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know. And it was only when things started getting really serious
16:26
in terms of my actions and how long I was having suicidal
16:29
ideations and having a manic episode that they clued in and thought
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it might, but it's not something that's easily
16:37
recognizable. Like I said, my friend in the psych ward, he
16:40
went to see his doctor and getting medication and some therapy for
16:44
10 years, getting the wrong diagnosis.
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So maybe there is a role right there what you've identified. Those closest
16:51
to you could probably identify it sooner. Because when you're in a manic or
16:55
in a very depressive state, you're not necessarily cognizant of that
16:58
euphoria or that that same depressive state that and seeing those
17:02
patterns. Was there a way that Danica, your wife,
17:06
was instrumental or other people in the community if they were
17:09
educated? And and I have talked with Danica. She's lovely,
17:13
and she's joining our team actually in trauma care training. We're so excited.
17:17
So I know she's educated, but are there other people in the community if we
17:21
were educated better that we would have been able to lovingly
17:24
been supportive in that journey towards understanding this diagnosis
17:28
and supporting you to get help earlier before it got so bad?
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It's a little hard to say. I don't wanna put all the pressure on, you
17:36
know, those around you to be recognizing and looking for warning
17:40
signs of serious mental, health issues.
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Though I think it might be easier to recognize manic
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episodes rather than the depressive episodes, because manic isn't
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common to other types of mental health issues.
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It's more so linked for bipolar, and it's pretty obvious when
17:59
someone is having those. You know, they might be exercising 5
18:03
times a day. They might be not sleeping for like 2 weeks, you know, and
18:07
they have high energy. You can tell when someone is manic. Mhmm. But with with
18:11
a depression, people often pull back. So
18:14
you might not see them in your regular social outings because they might be
18:18
at home lying down on the couch. They probably aren't wanting to see
18:22
people. So for that, I think the close friends have a
18:25
better chance of seeing it rather than a particular person in a
18:29
group. Mhmm. I know I've experienced both extremes
18:33
as a father-in-law and you coming over all the time. But when you mentioned
18:37
something about people getting more educated, being able to support you a
18:41
little bit better, what I found is once you got that diagnosis is
18:45
you really went after the information yourself to educate
18:48
yourself on your own diagnosis, and you've been very open about
18:52
sharing that information so that those supporting you, those around you
18:56
can support you as well. Can you take me to that
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moment you heard the diagnosis? What were some of the feelings that were coming
19:03
out for you and some of the thoughts? Yeah. For me, I had a little
19:07
bit of a 2 part with that. One was in September
19:11
2023 when I had a manic episode which happened because I
19:14
tried a different antidepressant. So that one took me from a depressive state,
19:18
and it took me up and up and up, and then I went into this
19:21
manic episode and I had all this energy. I talked to my regular doctor
19:25
about that, and she said, I think you have bipolar, but I can't
19:29
diagnose you with it because I'm not trained in that. She's not qualified to do
19:32
it. So then I thought, okay. I think I have this, but maybe
19:36
it'll be managed. Then, in
19:40
January 2024 of this year, when I was in the psych
19:43
ward, you know, for attempted suicide, I
19:48
heard the diagnosis. I thought, okay. Yep. I probably have bipolar.
19:52
And, you know, the psychologist there said, you know, okay. You have bipolar
19:55
affective disorder type 1. It felt like a punch in the
19:59
gut. It was so hard to hear because as she talked about
20:02
it, I realized this isn't something that's gonna go away.
20:06
Mhmm. It's not like a bad headache where you take some
20:10
Advil and then the pain goes away and you're fine and it's no
20:13
longer there. The medication doesn't heal you, it
20:17
manages it. And that was really hard to hear that I'm going to have this
20:20
for the rest of my life. I thought, can I be a good dad? Can
20:23
I can I be a husband? You know, if if a baby's up in the
20:27
middle of the night, how am I gonna manage my sleep, and what's it going
20:30
to look like? It really felt overwhelming at first. Though
20:33
it also brought, like I said before, a lot of freedom from the fact
20:37
that what happened to me and what I experienced wasn't my
20:41
fault. It wasn't because of lack of character. It wasn't because
20:45
of lack of faith or, you know, not willing to try things
20:48
or let people in. It was a biological factor
20:52
that really shaped my experiences. And
20:56
when I went to see a nurse practitioner later, she had words of such
21:00
great hope. She said, you can live a long life and fulfilled one
21:03
with bipolar. We'll have the medication. We'll treat, you know, the
21:07
symptoms. She's like, we have people in their eighties. We have people who are
21:11
traveling, who can do anything. It's not going to restrict you. You
21:15
can be a dad. And that was so it just gave me
21:19
so much hope for it. So as someone that has done the research,
21:23
how important is that support system around you to help
21:27
you to get to those eighties and and really thrive?
21:31
I think it's really critical. Even in the beginning,
21:35
like, if you could have someone walk with you to a doctor's
21:39
appointment. For a lot of people, including myself, that was scary.
21:43
You know, even sitting with you in a waiting room if you're gonna go see
21:46
a counselor and as you're exploring different options, you
21:50
know, I told Danica, if you weren't there with me in September, I would not
21:54
have gone on meds. You know, growing up the grip a little bit
21:57
more fundamentalist in Christianity, and I was more opposed
22:01
to medication as it related to mental health. But now that I've
22:05
gone there and, you know, God has been so good in leading me in
22:08
that and having a support system around me. It's been great where I
22:12
don't feel like I'm leaning on them all the time, but I know they're there
22:15
if I'm having a hard day or if it's becoming a hard week or something
22:19
else is going on. I feel comfortable reaching out and asking for help saying,
22:23
hey, you know, can you spend the evening with me or I'm, you know, can
22:26
you check-in with me during this time? And, you know, being able
22:30
to project into the years ahead, it's
22:33
crucial because medication on its own isn't
22:37
the full story. Community is vital. Yeah. And and I
22:40
appreciate, Jadon, your approach in destigmatizing
22:44
really what we often don't understand. We often fear
22:48
what we don't understand. But by you creating greater knowledge for
22:51
yourself and for those around you and bringing transparency, not
22:55
only does it destigmatize bipolar and that you can have you
22:59
have a bright hope and a future. God's plans weren't just for those that didn't
23:02
have bipolar. It's for for everyone. Those promises are
23:06
true, but it also drops the mask,
23:10
and it is a service to others because now you're
23:14
inviting me to drop my mask. I might not be
23:18
struggling with bipolar, but I might have other things in areas in my
23:21
life that I'm wrestling through, whether it's doubts or health
23:25
issues or mental health issues. You were making it safe for the
23:28
community to be themselves, which I think is a gift
23:32
that often goes unnoticed. And what we need more
23:36
in our society is people that will be authentic and
23:40
journeying with. It's a two way street. You're not just trying to to
23:43
to get everybody's sympathy, but you're saying, look. I'm dealing with this, but you've
23:47
been always so helpful as well. And I I really appreciate that about
23:51
you, Jayden. Thank you. So, Jadon, I know you
23:54
have a a rich professional background in studying.
23:58
One would say you're a professional student, and you're you're probably always gonna be
24:02
that student that is always eager to learn. You have so many,
24:06
credentials behind your name as you're building it out and still
24:09
studying. How do you see the profession and and
24:13
your training dovetailing into your calling that God has put on
24:17
your life? Where do you see yourself being part of the body of Christ
24:21
and and enriching the body of Christ and the greater society?
24:24
Where do you see yourself? Yeah. You know, so in electrical
24:28
engineering and and what I've studied, one of the things that
24:32
I prayed for and talked to God about a lot was
24:35
I want what I study and learning more about it
24:39
to be more fuel for the worship I have for you. You know,
24:43
if I knew that God created the world, then for a certain
24:47
measure, I can praise him for what he has done and love him for that.
24:50
And when I find out how God made the world, it's
24:54
just so much more rich and it's just time of, like, God, you made
24:58
these mathematical equations and this physics to work.
25:01
And I experienced a measure of that in my undergraduate degree.
25:06
But in my master's degree, as I'm studying now and continuing on maybe
25:10
into my PhD, it's just like it's exploded. And I get to
25:13
have this rich time with God where I talk with him about
25:17
electrical engineering problems, which really boil down
25:20
to how can we use our knowledge to help society
25:24
solve problems. It's not us do you know, just doing our own thing with circuits
25:28
and stuff. We have, you know, purposes for that. Helping right now
25:31
with grain carts that I'm, you know, helping to design, improve that for
25:35
farmers which then goes into the helping the food
25:39
production in our province. And dovetailing that and
25:43
dovetailing that into how I can help others, I think I'm becoming more
25:46
comfortable learning lots of different things and saying, how can I help?
25:50
You know, I have a background in electrical engineering, but I've gotten real good at
25:54
learning lots of different things along the way and and how to do so.
25:58
So if someone's needing help, you know, fixing a little pick scooter, I thought, I
26:02
can learn that. We'll we'll find out and see what how that can happen.
26:05
And even, you know, my father-in-law, Johan, he had his couch, the the
26:09
side thing that you pulled on that wasn't working, and it wasn't working for a
26:13
while. And he said, hey. Like, what if we, like, took a look at it?
26:15
Or do you know anything about that? I said, no. But let's, you know, look
26:18
at it, open it up, and see what's going on. And we found out the
26:21
part, looked up the part, got it. Works great now. I even helped him fix
26:25
his bass guitar, and I know nothing about bass guitars.
26:29
But being able to just just apply that I can learn
26:32
things, and I'm willing and I'm happy to help in the body of
26:36
Christ also going through so many struggles
26:40
and experiencing and having the thoughts and even having suicide
26:44
attempts multiple times. I am not phased
26:47
by that sort of talk at all. So if someone is a little
26:51
nervous about sharing that, I come without judgment, you know,
26:55
without blame. And if they're wanting to talk about that and, you know,
26:58
process it, I can be someone for them. You know, it's a really
27:02
touchy thing I know in the church to even bring up. But with those experiences
27:06
and having Danica and other family members be there for me time
27:10
after time, it's helped to equip me just to have those
27:13
conversations and to love them in it with firsthand experience.
27:17
And that's something that's so needed in the church is more openness in
27:21
this area because we've not talked about it for so many years,
27:25
and thank goodness for courses like Sanctuary Mental Health course that
27:29
we've mentioned, how they're opening up the conversation in the church
27:32
because, really, God has called the church to care for
27:36
those dealing with mental health. Mhmm. God's called us to be the solution
27:40
in in raising them up and be in a community around them so that
27:43
they can thrive and they can build up the body of Christ around them and
27:46
contribute in in significant ways. And and your ability
27:50
to research and innovate, like, we need that in the
27:54
body of Christ, and you happen to have bipolar disorder.
27:58
Yeah. I I look at you, Jayden, and you are not
28:02
a project to be fixed, to be healed.
28:05
You are a brother in Christ with rich gifts and
28:09
calling and ability. Most pastors can't fix a lot of things,
28:13
let's just say. They're they're pastoring for a reason and not an engineering
28:16
track, but we need the engineers in the church as well, both within the
28:20
church and the functioning of of the operations of the church, but also
28:24
in community that we have assets and abilities to
28:27
contribute to the greater society, that we are the church in
28:31
community. There's so much valuable things that you
28:35
bring to the body of Christ, and you have bipolar. That's
28:38
not just like a, oh, that's just a kind of a demerit on you.
28:42
That is you are just made in the image of Christ. We all have certain
28:46
things that we have to to get help for and and get supported
28:50
for, and we need it in community, but you're bringing all of you. What would
28:54
you like to tell other people that maybe aren't even
28:57
diagnosed, but maybe they're they're prompted to get diagnoses now or
29:01
seek attention for, or maybe they do
29:04
have bipolar affective disorder and are wanting to
29:08
integrate into greater society in their church, are there some
29:12
tips or some advice that you would give other people as
29:16
they're walking through it? The first tip I would like to give, and
29:20
it's a bit of an uncomfortable one, especially for me because I don't like to
29:23
have a loud voice, you will need to advocate for yourself, most likely in
29:27
the health care system. It's not to say that you're not valued. We
29:31
know that there are a lot of stressors on it and not enough people to
29:34
help. So if you don't feel like, you know, you're getting the right care
29:38
or potentially if you're on medication and you feel like it's not working,
29:42
you need to advocate. And 1 the first thing I would recommend for
29:46
that is to talk it over with someone and maybe even bring them along with
29:49
you just as some emotional support, just as someone maybe to body
29:53
double with you saying, okay, I'm gonna ask my doctor to change the
29:56
medication, or I'm gonna ask and say, hey. I think I might have this. What
30:00
are your thoughts? And the second one would be to seek out
30:04
information on what you think you might have and to explore it a bit. You
30:08
know, I wanna encourage you that just by looking up some of these things, you're
30:11
not gonna accidentally catch it. You know, if you're sad and you think, oh my
30:15
gosh, I am gonna catch the bipolar. It doesn't work that way. You
30:19
can look up what the different terms are, what different
30:23
types of therapy there is. And also, having a
30:26
diagnosis or maybe seeking that doesn't change who you
30:29
are. It doesn't change your identity. It can give a lot of
30:33
explanation for what you've experienced. And most of
30:37
the time, because we live in the wonderful world that God has made
30:40
and we have incredible people working in the health care system,
30:44
there is help and there is hope for you, you know, and in the
30:48
church as well, in community. One of the things, just as a
30:52
bit of a story to encourage people. So I was
30:55
married for a year and a half, went into the psych ward, and
30:59
Danica and I were apart for the first time, and we were apart for 10
31:03
days. I was forced to stay there. I chose to, but
31:06
I was forced to stay there. I couldn't leave. And
31:10
immediately, someone in our church that I had mentioned it
31:13
to and trusted, immediately he said, okay. Do you guys want
31:17
DoorDash, SkipTheDishes, or Uber? Like, what do you need for food?
31:21
And I thought maybe he would send, you know, $50 or something. This
31:25
person, I think, sent 2 or $300 to
31:28
make sure that Danica wouldn't have to worry about making food while I was there.
31:32
Another family, they had Danica over. They let her sleep there to
31:36
to give the comfort that she needed because I had all the medical care I
31:40
needed. But Danica also had needs as well. And seeing the
31:43
church just rise to that and love us so well was
31:47
incredible to see. That's beautiful. And and
31:51
I think that is something that we can take to heart, when we
31:54
notice other people going through hardship is to take
31:58
action on that and not asking, let me know if you have anything you
32:01
need. Just saying, we know you need to eat. Mhmm. So, therefore, tell
32:05
me what kind of food you want, what kind of services is it that you
32:09
you could utilize. And I think that's a great example. And
32:12
you you talked earlier, and you just spoke of
32:16
advocating for yourself and or finding others to
32:20
advocate for you and to come alongside, and I think that's what we see in
32:24
scripture often. The leper or or the the
32:27
person that is going through hardship touching the the edge of his
32:31
garments, of Jesus' garments. But then we also see
32:34
the story of the friends of the paralytic taking the
32:38
stretcher and bringing him through the roof. They advocated for the health and
32:42
and the well-being of of their friend, and I think there's a lot we can
32:46
learn today. It's not a fable of of bible stories,
32:49
a flanograph Jesus. It's here and now in our pews,
32:53
down the street, on the bus, next door neighbors.
32:57
These are our people that we advocate for. These are the people we
33:00
listen to when they're saying, are you really okay?
33:04
How is it going? And getting beyond the the fake, I'm fine. You're
33:08
fine. You know? Canadianisms that we we tend to to
33:12
rehearse very well from childhood. Now we're coming close to the end of
33:15
our episode here, but, Jadon, before we end, you talked about how the
33:19
church really rose up to support you and Danica in that in that
33:23
difficult time. But what are some of the gaps? What are some areas in
33:26
the church that you you think the church can be more inclusive
33:30
and more supportive with individuals dealing with mental health
33:34
conditions? I think with that, I wanna start off by saying
33:38
I love the church. The church is, you know, the body of
33:41
Christ, and they get to be his witness and his image bearers on the earth,
33:45
and I'm part of the church, And there is much healing that God can
33:48
bring through the church, healing of mental health, healing of
33:52
diseases, healing of loneliness, and all sorts of things.
33:56
And I also wanna say that there is a time and a
34:00
place to seek medical help. You know, if someone broke
34:03
their arm or had a really bad cut, they would probably
34:07
go to the emergency room and we wouldn't fault them for that. In the
34:11
same way, though, if someone was struggling with depression or other types
34:15
of mental health problems, I wouldn't want the church to stigmatize
34:19
them to go see a doctor, to go see a counselor, to go see
34:22
a therapist. And I think if pastors or leaders, we're
34:26
open to speaking about that from the pulpit
34:30
in the front, you know, in the same way that they are able to talk
34:33
about finances and how to navigate relationships and
34:37
other difficult topics. If they're able to say that it is
34:40
okay to get medical help, to help destigmatize
34:44
that, would go a long way. Because I know for myself,
34:47
like, I pushed and pushed and pushed back against even taking
34:51
antidepressants, let alone right now I'm on 4 kinds of
34:54
medication. And medication might not be the route for everyone,
34:58
but I think leaders in the church have the ability
35:02
and the opportunity to remove that stigma, to say your brains
35:06
may be wired differently. That's okay. There may be
35:10
biological factors coming into play here. This is not
35:14
a statement of your lack of faith or character or trust
35:17
in God or any of those things, but to make it easy
35:21
for people to get the help they need and from the people who
35:25
are trained to help in that area. That's really good, Jadon.
35:28
I think it's time we wrap up though. So, Jadon, just to end this off,
35:31
do you have any last words here that you'd like to share with our fellow
35:34
sojourners here on the Journey With Care podcast? I wanna share
35:38
and loudly say that Jesus is so
35:41
kind in the area of mental health. One
35:45
of the things that happened to me after I got a bipolar diagnosis was and
35:49
it was during a time of prayer. I had this vision with Jesus where he
35:53
was on a boat. You know, I was on the boat with him. And I
35:56
was like, awesome. We're on a boat. And then it was wavy and stormy.
36:00
And I hate the storm. I never wanted to be in this, you
36:03
know, storm in the boat. It was terrifying. And but
36:07
Jesus looked to me and he said, do you trust me? And I
36:11
said, I don't know. I think I do. I wanna trust you, but I
36:14
don't know. And then he responded to his own question,
36:18
and he said, Jadon, you do trust me Because when you couldn't
36:22
hear me, you chose me. When you couldn't feel me,
36:26
you loved me. When you couldn't see the way forward, you still trusted
36:30
me. You walked the paths of righteousness when you couldn't see a
36:33
way forward. And that to me brought so much healing
36:38
That god saw all the things I went through and he was
36:41
so kind. He has the best words to say to us
36:45
in our times of struggle And when we can't hear, like,
36:49
there is so much hope. Yeah. Well and and Jesus
36:53
said, in this world, you will have troubles.
36:56
Take hold. For I've overcome the world, and he is with
37:00
you in the storm. And I and I'm so encouraged to hear that from you,
37:03
Jadon, knowing the journey that you have been on
37:07
that preaches. And there are many people going through a variety
37:11
of struggles, but god is with you in the
37:14
storm. Well, this has been an inspiring episode. Thank you so much,
37:18
Jadon, for coming on to the podcast, and I am excited for the the
37:22
upcoming guests that we do have coming, so stay tuned. There are many
37:25
episodes to come as we learn to embrace those differently
37:29
wired in community.
37:33
Thank you for joining another conversation on Journey with Care, where
37:37
we inspire curious Canadians on their path of faith and
37:40
living life with purpose in community. Journey with Care is an
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initiative of Care Impact, a Canadian charity to
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connecting and equipping the whole church to journey well in community.
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38:18
And always remember to stay curious.