In the previous post I talked about the moods people with bipolar go through, like the depression that had been plaguing me for such a long time. “You wonder if you can ever be counted on again,” I told my fellow bloggers.

I recognized that “I’ve been fortunate. I’ve had a lot of support – good friends and an understanding husband.”

Throughout this blog so far I have talked about the unbelievably good support I had from friends. They showed me what God’s love was like and I had felt secure in that love. Within that love I felt God with me. I felt encouraged to do the many things I did raising mental health awareness in the church and founding Living Room.

It’s inconceivable that one like me, with such severe mental health problems, could have managed to do all she did if she didn’t have such friends. Repeatedly they helped me realize how great God’s love is. They were consistently available when I needed to let someone know how I was feeling. Because yes, my depression made the work very difficult. I appreciated their love and compassion.

I can see how, in the end, when the support was no longer there, my mental health deteriorated. At the end of nine years as leader of my Living Room group I resigned. My husband had become concerned, thinking I had dementia and I believed him.