In 2003, I had my first mania that was both traumatic and spiritual. From that day forward, I began a journey of discovering myself and training my mind to overcome the negatives while lifting up the positives that come with a Bipolar mind. I am where I am today because of how I approached my diagnosis.
This poem touches on my belief on mental illness, including the link to spirituality and art. If you enjoyed the read, go to bottom of page to click like or comment. To get notified of future post, click subscribe at the end of the poem.

My mind is my gift,
but they define me as manic depressant
or Bipolar
I am told I have a disorder
That I am ill
That I am less than
Not equal too
Not as good as
They say my mind comes with
Restlessness
Rapid Speech
Poor concentration
Unrealistic goals
Grandiose thoughts
Hallucinations
Sadness
Hopelessness
or Suicidal thoughts
With this list
How does one remain hopeful?
How does one become positive?
If I listen to what they say I am,
I will fight to merely exist
Exist like the millions that rot in
group homes or day programs
Exist like the millions that survive in
psych wards
or worse, I will cease to exist
If I listen to them, they will profit
while my genius stays tucked away
My gift will be lost in a large sea of labels
Society will knock me down with uppercuts more wicked than Mike Tyson
How do I even get up off the canvas if I listen to them?
If I am told that I am ill
Told that I am less than
Not equal too
Not as good as
Nowhere in their manual can I find the benefits of my mind
But I know better than to listen to them
My mind has elevated
beyond the comprehension of the ones labeled normal
I am not ill
My gift from God is my mind
The same one that they call ill
It's Ironic, isn't it?
If you want to get in touch with God,
get in touch with the diagnosed
Spend a day looking past their madness
& instead towards their messages
If you want to get in touch with God,
get in touch with creative minds that
often are diagnosed as ill
God speaks through them
Whether it is paintings, poems,
a musical masterpiece
or any other art form
People are in awe then go home to judge
the very same minds that created the art
It's ironic, isn't it?
They do not recognize who we are
We, the diagnosed, come from a long bloodline
We are the ones who have broken free
We see the meaning behind the curtain
We, the diagnosed, are the teachers
Let us remind you like a
Beethoven composition
or an Ernest Hemmingway novel
Let us help you Travel inside the mind of Isaac Newton
or witness a Vincent Van Gogh masterpiece
Let us paint the pictures that your mind cannot
Let us help you travel to a spiritual world
Expose you to something more beautiful
More grand
A world more like us
We are not less than but more than
We see, feel and hear what others cannot
We are creative genius that are admired for one thing
while judged for another thing
Our minds are not ill
You should know
It is impossible to reap the benefits of the mind
without the struggles of the mind
Like Yin and yang
We are brilliance and insanity
Creative and destructive
We are the uniqueness that existed before time
We feel pain that this existence
has been left behind
Sometimes this hurt gets the best of us but with the right mindset,
we become the greatness that are minds were designed to be
If only we do not believe what they told us, we are supposed to be
Go to bottom of page to like or comment

Wow, what a profound poem Eric. Knowing others around me who suffer from mental illness the words in this piece can give them the hopeful feeling that they are not alone and can rise through and above what they are going through. Thank you for shining your light and journey for others.🙏🏼❤️
Eric an absolutely profound, beautiful and brave poem. One that needs to be read by all 🙏🏽