If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Back in March of 2008, Jared met me for breakfast one Sunday morning.  At that time, I was in the midst of a terrible year-long deep depression and I was very close to a complete breakdown. Over the seven years I have known Jared, he seems to intuitively know when to reach out and be there for me when I need it. When I am depressed, I disappear and ignore the phone and isolate myself from friends and family.  For some reason, I felt I had the energy to meet with him at our favorite breakfast spot and chatted over pancakes and coffee. I am glad I did, because for the first time in a very long time, I seemed to escape from my depressed state of mind, even for only a few hours.  Jared is a very optimistic person who is full of new ideas and he is a very healthy distraction for me.  That morning, he had the idea for Words Cause and the internet radio show. He wanted to do something positive for people and to help others succeed and find answers. His idea immediately caught my attention and I agreed to partner with him on getting it going. I don’t know if it was a conscious act, but Jared’s idea was the exact therapy I needed to find answers for myself.

To be honest with you, when I got home, my depression returned and I nearly called him to back out, but I didn’t. As it turned out, the show and the increased time I spent with Jared seemed to give me a bit more energy and I started to pull out of the depression that plagued me for over a year.  I am a very creative person and creative distractions often “do” something for me.

As WordsCause.com and the Jared and Dean Radio show began to gain traction, I became increasingly inspired by the guest we had on the show.  All of them were very open with Jared and I and their stories resonated with our listeners, as they did for me.  So, I decided to put myself out there, too. I am bipolar and I wanted to talk about it on the show, because I knew others needed the kind of help and inspiration I had and I wanted others to have a means to learn about the illness and to be motivated to seek help. 

When I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I obsessed over dozens of books to learn everything I could about the illness.  Most of the books I read covered the same material adapted from the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).  Books like, The Bipolar Disorder Answer Book and The Bipolar Survival Guide were helpful, but I still didn’t identify with the illness after reading these books.  As I read more, the information in these clinical books became redundant. 

Later, I was told about a book entitled Manic, by Terri Cheney. A therapist told me that I should read that book, as it was written by someone who has the illness and someone of exception insight and intelligence.  This book filled in the gaps for me; it helped me identify with my illness for the first time. After reading the memoir, I immediately thought that Terri would be a great guest for the show. I emailed her to invite her to call in and she accepted. The outcome was a great interview about an important topic with a bestselling author.  Words Cause enabled this to happen; making a difference in my life and the life of others.