Image description: A photograph of Monica A. Coleman smiling. There is text on the image which reads 'Monica A.Coleman, Living with Depression and Bipolar'.
MONICIA'S STORY
"ONLY AS SHE WAS ABLE TO FACE HER ILLNESS WAS SHE ABLE TO LIVE FAITHFULLY WITH BIPOLAR "
Monica A Coleman has a diagnosis of depression and bipolar. However, like many operating under the widely-held assumption in churchs that seeking professional or medical treatment would indicate a “lack of faith,” Coleman hesitated to find help until her church work and studies began to be severely affected by her symptoms with her diagnosis of bipolar II in 2003.
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Monica A. Coleman is Professor of Constructive Theology and African American Religions at Claremont School of Theology in southern California. Answering her call to ministry at 19 years of age, Coleman is an ordained elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She brings her experiences in evangelical Christianity, black church traditions, global ecumenical work, and indigenous spirituality to her discussions of theology and religion. Coleman is the author or editor of six books, and several articles and book chapters that focus on the role of faith in addressing critical social and philosophical issues.
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Her memoir, 'Bipolar faith' shares her life-long dance with trauma and depression, and how she discovers a new and liberating vision of God
“Most people know bipolar as a condition with highs and lows. The highs are usually associated with feeling invincible, not sleeping, or spending sprees.”
But with bipolar II, the highs are lower.
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They usually manifest as productivity, quick thinking, an ability to multitask well, rapid speech, and sometimes irritability or anxiety."
Coleman is just another example of an individual living with,battling with disability. Demonstrating that even when you have a coping system in place, only when you find the right one do you see or feel changes.