How to Empower Yourself in Living Well in Spite of Your Mental Health Diagnosis

When Thomas “melted-down” in the small town of only 600 people he felt as though everyone was talking about him and that he had become the town “monster.” So, following his move back to his parents’ home in a metro area, he began a remarkable journey of healing that led him to find hope through Fresh Hope. In this edition of Fresh Hope for Mental Health, Thomas talks about his various diagnoses which include schizoaffective disorder and borderline personality disorder. He discloses the importance of researching and understanding your diagnosis and how medicine does 50% of the work, but you have to do the other 50% of it. Through researching his diagnoses, he became empowered to live well in spite of them. Anyone facing a serious mental health diagnosis will be greatly encouraged in hearing Thomas' journey to living well in spite of a mental health diagnosis. You don't want to miss this interview! After listening to this podcast, we encourage you to email us at [email protected] with a comment or question that we will share on our next podcast.   If you are listening to this podcast on iTunes, we encourage you to leave a comment regarding the podcast. Or you can leave a voice message for us on the site:  www.FreshHope4MentalHealth.com Pastor Brad Hoefs, host of Fresh Hope for Mental Health, is the founder of Fresh Hope Ministries, a network of Christian mental health support groups for those who have a diagnosis and their loved ones. In other words, Fresh Hope is a Christian mental health support group.  Brad was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1995. He is a weekly blogger for www.bphope.com (Bipolar Magazine). He is also a certified peer specialist and has been doing pastoral counseling since 1985. Brad is also the author of Fresh Hope: Living Well in Spite of a Mental Health Diagnosis, which is available on Amazon or at: www.FreshHopeBook.com If you are interested in more information about Fresh Hope go to www.FreshHope.us or email [email protected] or call 402.932.3089. To donate to Fresh Hope, go to: http://freshhope.us/donate/  For a complete list of where Fresh Hope groups are presently meeting go to www.FreshHope.us and click on “find a group.”  Or you may attain an online group of meeting of Fresh Hope by going to www.FreshHopeMeeting.com If you are interested in starting a Fresh Hope group within your faith community contact Julie at [email protected]  Fresh Hope for Mental Health is a production of Fresh Hope Ministries.  Fresh Hope Ministries is a non-profit ministry.   The copyrights of this program belong to Fresh Hope Ministries and may not be duplicated without written permission.  All the podcasts of Fresh Hope Today as well as numerous other videos are all available on our YouTube channel: Fresh Hope Network Fresh Hope for Mental Health is on Facebook at  www.Facebook.com/FreshHopeforMentalHealth