A new post in our What\u2019s Your Experience?\u00a0 Series,\u00a0<\/em> in which People-of-Faith share their experience of depression, anxiety, and other mental illness as they relate to their parish and their Catholic faith.\u00a0 In this post, Kate, the wife of a man with Bipolar I shares her experience with how priests, the Church, and her faith have been intertwined in the drama of her life.<\/p>\n My DH has been diagnosed in the past year with Bipolar I. \u00a0He is 42 years old and a cradle Catholic. \u00a0I am 39 and a convert to the Faith. \u00a0We have seven children that are homeschooled.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>My husband\u2019s first mental break occurred when he was an undergrad at Franciscan University in the early 90\u2019s. \u00a0He relates the story that he was in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, alone, begging God for help. \u00a0A priest entered the chapel at the sounds of his pleas. \u00a0My husband begged him for help as well, anguished. \u00a0The priest called 911 and he was hospitalized for a week. \u00a0He then graduated and moved on, but he still talks about that day and that he wishes the priest would have just prayed with him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Several years later, he was able to join the Army. \u00a0We met and married shortly after that. \u00a0We had many years of ups and downs along with infidelity. \u00a0We were married for 6 years when he sought help and was diagnosed with severe depression and put on a combination of Zoloft and Wellbutrin. \u00a0For several years, this was adequate to maintain him. \u00a0Through all this, he was able to earn two Master\u2019s degrees and become an officer in the Army. \u00a0In February of 2012, things took a turn for the worse. \u00a0He was suicidal and homicidal. \u00a0His medicines were changed to include depakote and \u00a0Celexa, but he only spiraled further out of control. \u00a0He was hospitalized. \u00a0They continued the same drug regimen and he was sedated and restrained almost daily for the first week until they changed the meds to include Lamictal, naltrexone and Seroquel. \u00a0Through the help of a few close church friends and one priest, I was able to conceal this hospitalization from everyone, including the children. \u00a0After three and a half weeks, he was discharged on Good Friday. \u00a0From there, everything changed. \u00a0After a year long process, he was medically retired from the Army two weeks ago. \u00a0He still cycles, but not to the extremes as before. \u00a0I am hopeful that with medication, therapy and time, he will become more stable.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>We have a lot of help from a few friends and our priest (who has since deployed overseas), but we are both embarrassed and feel the stigma of mental illness. \u00a0One of our fellow parishioners discovered his diagnosis and posted on Facebook a long discussion on how we shouldn\u2019t \u2018hide\u2019 behind a diagnosis and he should just change. \u00a0Our priest, who was new to our parish, was aware and said nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em>Through it all, he remains faithful. \u00a0He remains hopeful that God will assist him. \u00a0Praying the Litany of the Hours gives him a schedule that he finds calming. \u00a0Even with the hectic life raising children, we try to at least say Evening Prayers together before bed. \u00a0I find solace in turning to the intercession of St Dympna and Our Blessed Mother.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The most difficult thing for me, as a woman of Faith, is my husband\u2019s role as the head of our home. \u00a0When he cycles into mania or depression, I have to find the balance of taking care of things that he can\u2019t without taking away from his role, and maintaining his authority with the children. \u00a0I consider myself a strong woman, but discovering myself over the years as a submissive wife and honoring my place in our covenant has been so rewarding. \u00a0That being said, I am trying to gracefully maintain the order of our home without the detriment to my DH. \u00a0How does one stay true to the vow to honor and obey when their spouse is in full blown mania? \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n