I know a few people and know "of" a few more who were living with Bi-Polar and at some point went off their meds. They claimed to be happier. But the people around them did not. (My own personal small sampling, of course.) Bloggers and TikTok-ers now telling people as a current trend how they've gone off meds and are so much better; never needed them. ??????

I read a column in the NYT wherein a certain celebrity was naming some things that really mattered in his life. One of them was his bi-polar medication. He said that it made him feel more connected because he needed them and knowing everyone needs something made him feel a commonality like we are, after all, all in this together.

I rarely felt like we are "all in this together" in this world and usually turned out to be wrong when I did. Depends on the "we" I guess. We all need something. Hard to argue. But the disparity of the various needs? And filling them? So many ways to fill needs and lots of them don't work and even harm.

So, we all need SOMETHING, but, why does religion have to be one of the "somethings"? What if your need for eternal salvation is just another garden variety addiction?

What need does religion fill? Community, of course. Being with your own kind. Beyond that all I can think of is the need to feel superior. The need to fulfill and verify your assumption that you are indeed superior? Without doing the heavy lifting to actually be superior.

Thus the phrase, "God's chosen people".



The more I look at "need" the more I think of the lyrics to the Paul Revere and the Raiders song, "Kicks". Very specific lyrics about needs and filling them all wrong. Very universal situation. As soon as you find a way to fill one it wears off and you need another one.

"Well you think you're gonna find yourself a little piece of paradise but it ain't happened yet, you better think twice.

"Don't you see no matter what you do
You'll never run away from you

"Kicks just keep gettin' harder to find

"And all your kicks ain't bringin' you peace of mind

"Before you find out it's too late,
You better get straight"


Where does Mormonism stand on the long list of kicks, needs? Above or below opiods? Because sometimes kicks kick everyone around you in the teeth even more than what you are doing to yourself.

Luckily my addictions, my needs, are gardening, painting, working heavily still, and having outbursts where I say exactly what I am thinking unfiltered which are kind of shocking to some.

I don't need religion in order to feel superior. Two ways to take that, haha.

My kicks mostly involve falling asleep with a book.

That was a cool song. I never really thought about the lyrics back then.

I actually went to a concert of Paul Revere and the Raiders at Lagoon back in the sixties. So good. I always loved that song best. I think that is the time I wore a Nehru jacket. Sometimes life was really good.

I remember the Nehru jackets. They'll probably come back in style soon!

I think that some of my "kicks" in mormonism came from hearing about new sightings of the three Nephites doing their heroic antics. I ate this stuff up with delight.

Other kicks came from hearing that the end is closer than we think and any day now Jesus will ride his chariot across the sky.

Paul Dunn was a source of kicks for me. Hearing about his war experiences was inspiring.

I was out by the time Rusty's airplane caught fire and spiraled towards the ground. That one would have been worthy of a mormon kick for sure.

How would I have known I needed salvation if someone didn't tell me?

By men who claim to "speak for God" but are mascots for a real estate empire that uses religion to avoid taxes.

If they told me God was a 40' purple ape who rides around on a van driven by a beagle named Jesus, I would have believed them. It makes just as much sense.

>> How would I have known I needed salvation if someone didn't tell me?

How would you know that you are broken? How would you know that you are sinful? Religion sells a lot of strange concepts.

Is bi-polar over "diagnosed" by family & friends?

I think if you respond differently in different settings, a friend or relative might knee-jerk 'diagnose' you.

(updated) just now updated to read online that a lesion contributes to the disease/helps with Dx.

my .02



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/2025 08:33PM by GNPE.

LOL, you actually found a good one! It's true too. Cats think they are God, dogs think you are :)

As for me, I will stick with dogs even though mine think I am their slave. They are right too lol.

Kind of ironic that the first part is singing about a "Magic Carpet Ride", which was trippin on hallucinogenics. In 1966.
Then, 2 years later, Steppenwolf is encouraging a girl to go on a Magic Carpet Ride.

Magic Carpet Ride is one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time.
I never tripped out, but I loved all the trippin music of the time.

I went back to Texas for my Fraternity's 45 year reunion. We we're all talking about growing up in that era. We had the best cars, the best music, the best clothes and the best women the world has ever seen!
I like magic carpet ride, but my favorite Steppenwolf song is Born to be Wild!

While "Kicks," was great, there were all of these messages coming from the other side of this issue. Like these lines from the Grateful Dead's "Casey Jones,":

"Driving that train
High on cocaine.
Casey Jones, you'd better
Watch your speed.

Trouble ahead,
Trouble behind.
And you know that notion
Just crossed my mind."

Trouble ahead, the lady in red
Take my advice, you'd be better off dead