Triumph Over Trauma!
Triumph Over Trauma!
Faith Meets Mental Health: A Journey Through Bipolar Disorder
Uniting in a powerful conversation that bridges the gap between faith and mental health; host Eve McNair welcomes Deora Clairé, whose striking TikTok testimony caught Eve's attention, to share her journey with bipolar disorder.
Deora candidly reveals how her mental health crisis emerged suddenly following a painful breakup in 2019. With remarkable clarity, she describes her first manic episode with psychosis—walking around vacant houses talking to them—which led to hospitalization and diagnosis at age 23. The raw details of her experiences, including believing she was invisible during a second episode, create a vivid picture of what psychosis actually looks like, demystifying a commonly misunderstood condition.
What makes this conversation particularly powerful is the seamless integration of faith and professional treatment. Deora shares how she initially stopped her medication due to denial but eventually embraced both her faith and medical support. She references Scripture throughout, including Proverbs 11:14 about the "abundance of wise counselors," providing biblical permission for believers to seek specialized help without shame. As she puts it, "God is the ultimate healer, but He also provides people to help you through those issues too."
Get in touch with the guest and I
Eve's Linktree info - https://linktr.ee/IAMMSEVE?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=2e9744d2-aabc-46b4-8e53-16da4962942e
Deora Clairé's Info!
Website -www.deoraclaire.com
Linktree- https://linktr.ee/deoraclaire
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/deoraclaire
Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/deoraclaire
TikTok-https://www.tiktok.com/@deoraclaire
YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@deoraclaire
YouVersion Bible App devotionals-https://www.bible.com/organizations/4bbd27f7-f139-4
Find a therapist Get Started (betterhelp.com)
Online Psychiatric Medication & Mental Telehealth Services - Rx Anxiety, Depression & Insomnia Treatment | Cerebral
- Triumph Over Trauma Scripture: II Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto to God, who always causes us to Triumph in Christ....
- Books I'm reading on my healing journey.
- It Didn't Start with You! - How Inherited Family
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to Triumph!
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, who always causes us to Triumph!
Hey y'all, welcome to Triumph Over Trauma, the podcast. Listen y'all. I created this podcast because, like so many other people, I've had a traumatic past. I didn't always realize how those things affected me negatively and how I even carried them into my adult life, and so I wanted to create a space where other people could come and we could have candid conversations on how you identify trauma, how do you navigate it and how you recover from traumatic experiences. If this resonates with you, then join me. I am your host and trauma survivor, Ms Eve McNair. Let's get into it. Hey guys, welcome back to Triumph Over Trauma. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the podcast.
Speaker 1:Now, listen, I don't know what day it is that you're listening to this, but for me it is June 3rd 2025. And I can't even believe that we are in the second half of the year already. Like, where did May go? Like May came in. I took a nap on May 1st, May 31st. I woke up and I was just like wait a minute, the month is going. Like, how is this possible?
Speaker 1:But because May was Mental Health Awareness Month, I have to give space to the topic. We all know that there is a stigma regarding mental health in our society, and it is time that we break those stigma. It is time that we begin to spread awareness, that we begin to offer resources, tips and advice on how we can maintain our own well-being and help others who may be struggling as well. So, because of that, I have a few guests over the next couple episodes who are going to be sharing those resources, the advice, the tips, the stories regarding their own mental health struggles or challenges, and so I need you to get your pen, get your paper, get your cup of tea, get ready to listen to how we can begin to change the stigma regarding this topic.
Speaker 1:So I have a very special guest today, Diora Cleary, with us. I came across her content on TikTok and I was blown away by her testimony blown away about just the things that you can see she's overcoming, the things that God is doing in her life in the way of mental health, and I was like I got to have her on the show, Got to have her on the show, and so we welcome you to the show, Dior. So glad to have you here.
Speaker 2:All I have to say oh my gosh, this is such a blessing. You have no idea. When you reached out out, I was like, well, you know what I've always wanted to be on a podcast? Of course, this is nothing but God. And on top of that, I just appreciate all the beautiful words that you have just said. Your kindness exudes through you. You have a beautiful spirit as well, and I'm just so grateful for this opportunity.
Speaker 1:So tell us a little bit about your journey with mental health and how you were diagnosed. Tell us a little bit about your journey with mental health and how you were diagnosed. Tell us a little bit about your story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it actually started back in July of 2019. I just ended a long-term relationship for about we were together for maybe five years and I ended it because of infidelity and I was heartbroken, so I didn't know that approximately two weeks or maybe like maybe one and a half weeks, I think it was about maybe 10 days later I wound up in a mental hospital for the first time ever and it turned out that I had a severe manic episode and the manic episode looks like.
Speaker 2:well, I had psychosis as part of this manic episode. So psychosis is when you have either hallucinations or delusions, or both. Well, in my case, I was having delusions At this point, just like a little peek into what a manic episode looks like. For those that are not aware is that in this particular episode, I was walking around my neighborhood in vacant rental houses, outside of vacant rental houses and talking to them. So that alerted my parents to that. Something is wrong, something is off.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And they called the first responders who sent a I guess a mental health team out, okay, and they actually assessed me and said that I had a, that I was experiencing mania so that prompted my parents to take me to the hospital okay they took me to a general hospital. But then my manic episode Pete to where I thought that I think this part had included some hallucinations, because I believe there were like lions in the room and I was talking to them and it was just very interesting, like I was not in the right mental space that a normal person would be in when they have, like all their faculties and checks.
Speaker 2:So, that prompted the psychiatrists who saw me to have them hold me and give me, get me to an actual mental hospital. I understood that I was in a strange place and they were giving me medicine, so I was like, okay, this is like. This reminded me of school at this age.
Speaker 1:I was at this time, I was age 23, right before my 24th birthday, and I was like okay, well, this is like at school like they tell you what to do and you do, so that's how I decided that I won't get in trouble.
Speaker 2:I'll just do what I'm supposed to do while I try and figure out where I'm? At so I started reading the reading material that was on the wall okay and I realized oh, I'm in a mental hospital, so it clicked. For you, so it clicked for me there, okay, and while I was there, I was there for seven days. That was my first time being in a mental hospital.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And during those seven days they moved me from one wing to another wing to another wing, based on how I was progressing as far as like getting back to a normal and healthy state of mind. Okay, far as like getting back to a normal and healthy state of mind Okay.
Speaker 2:So I went from like the worst swing to like the best swing in a matter of seven days, and then I was released and I didn't know that I was going to end up having depression, but I started feeling sad, of course, naturally, everything that I went through, and sad, of course, naturally, everything that I went through and I wound up experiencing depression for the first time ever and remember me laying sprayed out, sprawled out on the floor, praying to God like Lord. I don't know what's going on, I don't know what to do and well.
Speaker 1:So let me answer this yeah, not to interrupt like prior to the breakup and prior to that experience where you, you know, had to be hospitalized and the first responders were called. Can you recall any other times where you had a mental health issue or crisis? Maybe something's wrong? You've never experienced or felt anything, but this particular breakup brought on this mental health conflict. Right, it triggered it. It triggered it, so it triggered the chemical imbalances in my brain. I guess to be active, okay, and it created a manic episode.
Speaker 1:Created a manic episode, Wow. First of all, I just want to say, even with a little bit that you've shared so far, we have to begin to take into consideration, just as a society, how fragile the mind is right and how fragile the heart is as well. I often say, like we know the textbook definition of trauma, but I often say that trauma for me is the mind's picture of what the heart has endured. The trauma for me is the mind's picture of what the heart has endured. So our hearts endure things and sometimes our minds will hold on to what we have experienced. And your mind can only take so much, you know.
Speaker 1:But there are some things that are just too much for one to experience and can affect you negatively. So I'm glad that you spoke to the fact that up until that point, you felt healthy. You had not had experienced any mental health issues. You were not aware of any. Your parents, your family, your friends never said hey, you know, Deora, you know, sometimes I felt like there may be an issue here. This was something that was brand new to you.
Speaker 2:Yes, brand speaking new yeah, it shocked me completely right.
Speaker 1:How did your first experience with you know the mental health um crisis? How did that shape? Or, or, or um. I guess, yeah, shape or form your thoughts toward mental health so after.
Speaker 2:So they gave me medicine, they sent me home with medicine okay about like after I was going, was back home and was experiencing depression. About a month later, like I celebrated my birthday, but I was depressed, in denial. And then I I remember that I stopped taking the medicine they prescribed me because of the exact fact that I was in denial and that I was not accepting. I was like they must be got this wrong.
Speaker 1:They don't know me, because you had never experienced anything like this. And so exactly how did you come to realize that you were experiencing challenges with your mental health? When did it click for you that? Okay, something may be wrong here.
Speaker 2:That's a very good question because, like I said, after I stopped taking the medicine, I was still in denial for the rest of 2019. So it happened in July of 2019, a couple weeks before my 24th birthday and then in august 20th. On august 24th I stopped taking the medicine and then, from that time on up until early march of 2020 so basically eight months give or take. Okay, I was in denial because up until I had a second severe manic episode that landed me at a mental hospital again.
Speaker 1:So you came home, you had that bout with depression, you were prescribed the medicine, but you stopped taking the medicine, right, right, and then for that eight, up for eight months, were you not taking the medicine? For eight months? And then the second episode happened, correct, okay, and then you wound up re-admitted into a hospital, right, there's a scripture in the bible that says we overcome by the blood of lamb and the word of our testimony, right, and we, we give testimony to the things that god has done in our lives and is doing in our lives, because there are people all around the world who are experiencing what we've experienced, to the same magnitude and sometimes even greater, and not to minimize anyone's trauma or mental health struggle, but sometimes there are things that we've gone through or that others have experienced that just seem almost insurmountable. We know that the purpose in which we're talking about this is not to gather attention or sympathy for ourselves, but to say listen, but for the grace of God, dig a way. You know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I literally could and should be, and was in some areas out of my mind, but God, you know. But God is a healer and a restorer. Um, amen, amen. You spoke to the fact that, um you, you realized that you were having a manic episode and delusions, um so, what does a manic episode look like? What does it feel like? How would I know whether or not you were experiencing a manic episode? What would it look like?
Speaker 2:So I told you about the first episode. So let me go into the second episode, which happened early March. So early March, for example, I was literally driving around my city, which is Memphis, tennessee, and I turned on my flashers lights because I thought I was invisible and I thought that turning on my hazard lights will also make my car invisible wow so much so to the point that I got out my car at the apartment complex and I walked around butt naked.
Speaker 2:So that's one way to tell, like just the, where the person's mind is. That like if they're connected to reality or not because, if you're having a delusion or you're seeing hallucinations, then that means that you're, you're not connected to reality. So and then on top of that, another way, and that's if they're, their manic episode is with psychosis. So those two manic episodes were with psychosis okay now without psychosis.
Speaker 2:It looks like high energy. Some people can go days, or I guess, without sleeping so I wasn't sleeping that well. I was having insomnia which I also believe triggered my second episode, and and then on top of that you can have high energy, so you're going to have a lot of creative ideas et cetera. And then, lastly, one of the other signs is like where someone is talking really, really fast.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay.
Speaker 2:So like a combination of those can alert you to like okay, something's not quite right, right, right.
Speaker 1:All mental health struggles or issues, or even mania and things like that, may not show up or present themselves the same way in every, in every body and every person. In most cases, it's as a result of a person not being connected to reality, and I myself can identify with that feeling. I went through a period I mean almost two decades of chronic trauma, childhood trauma, all the way up into my adult life, and with having experienced so many traumatic events, all of those things begin to affect my psyche, so much so that I begin to dissociate. And I didn't know that it was my brain's way of escaping those present moments that I were, that was in where I couldn't physically escape as a child, couldn't physically run away from my caregivers, and I didn't realize that my, my brain was like okay, well, we're going to create a way for you to get out of this um, for you not to feel this mania. I've never experienced um hallucinations or delusions.
Speaker 1:I can identify with being away from home, like within myself. You know what I mean, um, and during those times when I, when I where I was away from home within myself, I was not myself. You know what I mean um from even and I will say that I can even um identify with having some erratic behavior, maybe like spending more money than I would have, you know kind of throwing caution to the wind, you know just being like, okay, nothing matters, and just kind of like floating through. You know what I mean. So I can certainly understand when you say, when you talk about people not being connected to reality, that's good to know. I know from looking at your content that you are a believer and you always give glory to God for what he's done. How would you say that faith and prayer support mental health? How do they work together?
Speaker 2:Well, I think it's so, so critical to have faith in prayer when it comes to mental health. And I'm talking from experience, because when I was in the mental hospital the first time around, I went looking for a Bible. I only found one Bible in the wing that I was at. So I took that bible and I found it and I read psalms and it was comforting to me and I knew, like from growing up I was gonna say did you grow up okay?
Speaker 2:yes, from growing up in the church and my dad currently is a pastor in the church okay, having that um taught to me as a child, going through my struggles as an adult, I've understood the importance of having and acknowledging that you know that god is in control and that he will help me and pull me through. So that's who I leaned on. And when I got out of the hospital the first time around, I started reading the devotionals that were on the YouVersion Bible app. Every single day, every single day, I would read one, and I still read them to this day.
Speaker 2:I'm even a content partner for the YouVersion Bible app.
Speaker 1:So I have a lot of devotionals on there too. Oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Thank you. So I love devotionals on there too. Oh, that's awesome, thank you, but that's I. I know for a fact that if it was not by the grace of God, if it wasn't for his word, if it wasn't for the devotionals out there, I would not be where I am today. And where I am today is five years manic episode and five years in December depression episode free. Wow.
Speaker 2:So I know God is a healer and it's through prayer and it's through faith, because I remembered of the woman with the issue of blood and she had it for 12 years right and she went and touched the hymn of jesus's garment yeah and her faith made her whole the power that he felt released them from her was because of her faith, and also with prayer like our prayers are powerful it tells us and thank god I have my scriptures right here it tells us in philippians 4, 6 through 7, that we don't have to be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition when thanksgiving, present your request to god, and then the peace of god which transcends all understanding.
Speaker 2:Well, god, your hearts and your minds, and so. I'm like okay, I want my heart and my mind guarded. Then I need to pray and tell God my petitions, as well as thank him for all that he has done, all that he is doing and what he will do in the future.
Speaker 1:Yeah Amen, that was good, um, for me. And I yeah Amen, that was good For me. Every time I think about the fact that I have survived the trauma that I've gone through and the fact that, because it's one thing to survive We've all have survived something but it's another thing to thrive past what you've gone through, thing to thrive past what you've gone through. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if it had not been for the grace of God, I would not be thriving, I would not be healing, I would not be processing the trauma, I would not be in my right mind. And I know that, because of what I've gone through, I do have that tendency, like I said before, to dissociate or to disconnect when things get, you know, I guess, hectic around me or triggering around me. But one thing I can say is that prayer has been an anchor. The word of God has literally been an anchor. Like I've gotten to the point where I can sense, where I'm more aware, more sensitive to what I feel and what I'm thinking and what my triggers are and how I respond, what my coping mechanisms are. And now I'm realizing, oh, I'm a little bit off, I got to go to. I got to go pray, I got to go get in the word, I got to go spend some time with God, um, and so people sometimes think that there should be a disconnection between faith and mental health. But what I believe is that we need to bridge the gap between faith and mental health, and a lot of people, christians alike, sometimes carry a sense of shame or guilt when it comes to mental health because they're believers. I shouldn't have this mental health issue because I believe in God. I shouldn't have this. You know this problem because I believe in God. But the Bible says you will have trouble in this life. You will have trouble, but you will be able to overcome that trouble because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So, although we're going to experience the same things that other people around us experience, we're, we have a one up, we have a resource right To go through, and that is what I've learned and am learning continually through my healing journey.
Speaker 1:When I first started talking about the trauma I had experienced, I, I it was just like one level Okay, this is what I've gone through, this is the surface of what happened, and it was like, well, I can't even believe that. I said that. I can't even believe that I went through that. I can't even believe I experienced that. And then God was like okay, we've got to go deeper now, because now I'm going to take you through a process of healing. I'm going to take you through a process of learning what to do, how to deal with the trauma or the pain or the betrayal or the heartbreak.
Speaker 1:And now God is like I have to retrain the Bible. It talks about this, you know letting your mind be transformed. And now I have to transform your mind, you know, so that you don't respond the same way that you would. My thought is that, although we do have prayer, we do have our faith. We know that those two go hand in hand. What do you think about professional help? Do you feel like that is still necessary or that you can combine them with faith?
Speaker 2:You can definitely combine them with faith and I believe professional help as well as having your faith and prayer and in general, together is a powerful combination. I think more people should definitely take advantage of that, because I myself I have professional help, so I have medication and medicinal help so medication that I take as well as I have a therapist and a psychiatrist, so I have the professional help, but I also know that God is the ultimate healer, so I have to have my faith and my prayer life as well.
Speaker 2:So, just like how you said, when you sense that something's a little off, I need to go to my prayer class, I need to get down to my knees and pray. I understand that because that's how I feel too.
Speaker 1:Or.
Speaker 2:I might need to talk it out to someone talk to my therapist about it. Talk to a friend, so that's really helpful for me because I get that reinforcement of what did.
Speaker 1:God say right, awesome, I love it. I love that because, again, there's there's already a stigma around mental health in the world in general and then there's an added stigma sometimes in the Christian communities, because we, again, we carry that shame and we carry that guilt that I must not be praying enough, I must not be doing something right enough in the eyes of God, or else I wouldn't be struggling with this. But even when we we look at Job, the Bible considers him to have been a perfect man, right, and I mean he was crossed all his t's and dotted all his i's, but trouble still found him. Right, like trouble still found him and he went through such trauma, like losing all his kids in one day, like, I mean, compounded trauma. So, but it lets us know that we will experience things that are that, that catch us off guard, that get us to the point where we, like you know what, you can pack me up now, jesus, if you ready, I'm ready. Um, but cause he was, but he was so real and I.
Speaker 1:What I love about that is he. He clung to his faith, right, and it it lets us know that we can cling to our faith with whatever it is that we're going through, whatever it is that we're experiencing, even if it be a mental health struggle, even if it be a mental health issue, we can cling to our faith in God and that gives me such peace, such hope and such strength to know listen, I don't mind telling people yeah, I went through so much trauma that I was dissociated. I had a dissociative personality. Um, I'm okay now because of God, like God did this and is doing this, and God is keeping me. What does our faith say about seeking um help when we face emotional and psychological struggles? Because I think sometimes people think, because they belong to God, they are not allowed to seek out help. They're not allowed to seek professional help. Can you, can you speak to that?
Speaker 2:yes, I can. So there's a couple of things that I wrote and I've got my notes and my scriptures yes, back it up with the word.
Speaker 1:Back it up with the word.
Speaker 2:So the first thing when I'm talking about seeking help I think there's. The bible mentions two different kinds of help okay and the first help is, of course I mentioned philippians 4, 6 to 7 earlier about telling the lord our prayer by prayer and petition anything that we're going through. Anything that we need help with in his peace will transcend all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds. But I also want to remind everyone of first Peter, 5 and 7, which says cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Speaker 2:That's the New International Version translation. But, in the New Living Translation it says give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. So, this first level of seeking help for me means that I'm going to the Father, going to God but that's not all it says in the Bible.
Speaker 2:Okay, in Proverbs 11, verse 14, and I love the Amplified Version, so I it says in the bible. Okay, proverbs 11, verse 14, and I love the amplified version, so I got it in the amplified version. It says when there is no wise or intelligent guidance, the people fall and go off course like a ship without a helm come on the abundance of wise and godly counselors.
Speaker 2:There is victory, yes, so so you probably know where I'm going with this is that, the wise guidance, the abundance of counselors that is telling me okay, it's okay to get professional help because they have the wisdom and that specific expertise in that area come on.
Speaker 1:See, I look at it. I'm so glad that you said, I'm so glad that you referenced that scripture because, like, even when we think about God, forbid we fall and break our arms. We're going to the ER, somebody going to do something for me, you, I'm leaving here with a sling. You're going to give me some pain meds, I'm going to be all right after I leave here no-transcript. But when you talk about mental and emotional health, we're afraid to go, you know, to a specialist. Um, when the Bible clearly States, gives us permissions and actually urges us to understand that there is victory in the multitude of councils, you can be helped.
Speaker 1:There are so many things that I have learned in therapy that I have taken back to God in prayer, that I've been able to allow him to expound on and to give me insight on and to help me through that. I've learned in therapy Coping mechanisms, deep breathing exercises, things that help me to regulate my nervous system. You know what I mean. I would not have learned that had I not gone to seek a professional. But the fact of the matter is that God uses people, he uses people and that he has raised people up in certain professions to help other people. And I always say that when you're seeking a professional for a specific reason, go to that professional that specializes in that issue. Right, like I said, if we, if we're having trouble with our vision, we're going to go to an ophthalmologist, right, you're going to go to a specialist that that basically specializes in that.
Speaker 1:And for me, I had to go to a trauma informed therapist, somebody who understood the trauma I had experienced, how it had affected me and then how that trauma would manifest in my adult life. And so I'm so glad that you, that you spoke to that, cause I feel like it gives people permission, first of all, to exhale and say I can seek professional help for this. And if I'm a believer, ok, let's, like you said, let's go and find somebody that who are believers, who's going to point me back to the word of God, right, because again, there's such a stigma with mental health and people are so afraid to to even own their mental, mental health struggles, let alone to seek help. So there you have it, you have permission to go, so I'm glad that you spoke to that. How do you think that? Religious leaders? I know you spoke about your father being a pastor, but how do you think um religious leaders and communities? Churches can better support those who struggle with mental health challenges.
Speaker 2:I think and I wrote this down too, I think one of I know we have like testimony service, which is amazing, but I also think having like specialized events where faith meets mental health would be amazing. So, like having conferences, having events where people can come out in the community and actually share their stories, actually have therapists available, actually have psychiatrists available, so that people that need help can feel safe enough and don't feel like, oh well, god is looking down on me because I have this issue and that.
Speaker 2:I can only go to God, but not realizing that God also provides people to help you through those issues too. So I think that's one of the amazing ways that religious leaders, as well as communities and churches, can help people that are experiencing mental health issues. It's about providing resources, ultimately.
Speaker 1:Well, awesome, I'm glad that you said that. When I first started my podcast, triumph Over Trauma, my pastor actually listened to it, unbeknownst to me, and I put it on Facebook and I said you know everybody, here's my story, here's what I've gone through, and you know, I'm just being obedient to God. And my pastor listened to it and he called me up and he was like Eve, this is so needed, you have to come talk about this. You have to come. You know, you put on a conference, you have to speak about this. And I was like me, what, like listen, I was just being obedient to God, but I don't know if I want to get in front of people, although my voice, you know, had been heard, but over the podcast and who knows who listened to it, you know, at that particular time. But it was something about being in front of people that I was like, I don't know. But I thank God that he gave me this space to talk about it, because there were so many people who had came up to me in the church, outside of the church, believers, non-believers, who were like me too, and I'm so glad that you said that and I'm I'm so glad that we had this conference and I'm so glad that you prayed for me and I remember the first time I talked about trauma and mental health in my church.
Speaker 1:Afterwards my pastor did an altar call and the altar was full and I was like I thought it was just me, I had going through, and so you never know, you know how your story, your testimony can help somebody else, bring somebody else out. So the fact that you spoke to churches or community leaders, giving space to people to be able to talk about it, like you said, do testimony service, but also having those professionals, those therapists, those psychiatrists We've actually had conferences. My pastor has allowed me to do conferences where we've had therapists there. We've had domestic violence advocate there, mental health advocates there, and I'm so grateful and thankful, even looking back on all of those opportunities that we were provided because we're changing that stigma.
Speaker 1:This is what's needed to change that stigma right, like we suffer too, too, we go through things too, even as believers, but the victory is that it's in God, you know, it's in Jesus Christ. So, wow, amazing. I'm so glad that you spoke to that. How has this mental health, the issues that you've gone through, that you've experienced, how would you say that's shaped your life? Wow?
Speaker 2:So I would say, by the grace of God, he's cultivated my purpose through my mental health journey. Can you say that again? Yeah, so I believe that God has cultivated. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in July of 2019, I was actually. I took off from work. I work in the marketing field and as a career, but I also had dreams of being a singer songwriter.
Speaker 2:So that wasn't faith motivated that was just me wanting to be famous, wanting to have the glitz and glamour life, etc. But during that time, those three months that took off to pursue my dreams wholeheartedly, that's when I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that stopped me in my track. I didn't believe that I could fulfill my dreams. I didn't believe that I was worthy to fill my dreams because of the diagnosis. So God led me and healed me through that to realize that you know what you're still worthy he said I formed you in your mother's room.
Speaker 2:You are fearfully and wonderfully made, that's psalms 139 and 14, for anyone that's wanted to know, and I was like, okay, that's, that's, I'm still fearfully and wonderfully made despite this diagnosis I can still achieve what the lord has for me, because of jeremiah 29, 11 that says for I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, not to harm you, to give you hope in the future, and that literally brought me back to life. So, and after July of 2019, where I thought that you know what, I couldn't pursue my dreams anymore in March or was it May of 2020, so after my second hospitalization and second time with depression, that scripture, jeremiah 29 11, brought me back to life.
Speaker 2:To feel like you know what? It's not the end, it's not over it's just the beginning. And then romans 8 28, where he says all things work together for the good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose, and realizing that I was called according to his purpose because I love him and that means that this is going to work out for my good. So because of that, that's why I say he cultivated my purpose through my mental health journey, because now I am still a bilingual singer, songwriter.
Speaker 2:I still have music out on all platforms wow, but I'm also an author. He like developed me and gave me a story and a testimony to tell through the devotions to encourage other people and through my upcoming book to encourage other people amazing.
Speaker 1:So I hear you saying that, regardless or in spite of a mental health diagnosis, in spite of what you thought was going to destroy your dreams and your hopes, god brought, not only brought you through, but has placed you in such a I want to say, with such an opportunity to not only give him glory, but to still be all those things that you had aspired to be. Uh, but yes, and much more and much more, with, with purpose, like that's amazing. So there might be somebody who's listening and they might be feeling like this mental health diagnosis is my end Right. But God always gives us hope. He always allows us to see, you know, the testimony of what he can do, and that's why it's so important for us to continue to have these discussions.
Speaker 1:I believe, right now, that God is shining a light on those of us who have been affected by trauma and mental health.
Speaker 1:I feel like now is the time where God is like I'm coming to rescue you. There's a specific group of people that God is saying now is your time, now is your time. I'm coming to restore, I'm coming to deliver, I'm coming to strengthen and to heal all those areas where you were broken. There is nothing that is too hard for God. There's nothing that is impossible. Um, it is nothing that he can't fix and nothing that he that he can't turn around for his glory, like I hear you saying now, I found purpose in my pain, right, like I found purpose. Well, you know, the breakup might've or the enemy wanted to break up to destroy you, right, but instead, like what the enemy meant for evil, god is now using it for my good. You know, that's amazing. That is amazing. My last and final question we kind of already spoke about it, but how important do you think it is for us to normalize talking about mental health struggles?
Speaker 2:I think it's uber, uber, like expeditiously, and what's the other big word? Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, all of it like we definitely need to have these conversations and I don't think it's something that should happen like once in a while but it should be like an everyday thing, like how are you doing?
Speaker 1:right, how are you doing? Not just like, how are you?
Speaker 2:but how are you mentally, how are you emotionally? You know, like, what is going on in your world and exactly how is that affecting you? I love that don't ask those deep questions like that on a day-to-day basis?
Speaker 1:no, we don't, no, we don't, and we don't answer them those deep questions on a day-to-day basis no, we don't, no, we don't. And we don't answer them those deep depressions on a day-to-day basis. Because, if you think about it, you know, when you approach somebody or when you come into contact with somebody and you ask them how they're doing, this baffles me. When people say, hey, how you doing, they say, hey, I'm good. My whole life could be falling apart, like I could literally be on the verge of losing it, but I'm going to say I'm good when I'm not Right. And we have to resist that urge. We have to be vulnerable. We have to tell our truth Like to thine own self. Be true, like tell, be true, like tell the truth about how you feel.
Speaker 1:I'm challenging our listeners right now that the next time somebody asks you, hey, how you doing, how you feeling today, to say exactly, unequivocally, how you feel, because you never know, first of all, how you.
Speaker 1:Opening up and saying that can not only save you but it might cause somebody else to be more aware of what you're going through. It's been such, such, such a pleasure having you. I feel like we definitely got to have a round two because all these questions were developing while you were telling your story and I'm like wait a minute, oh, wait a minute, what about this? So we got to have a round two because I need people to hear your story and I need us to collaborate and to just get people involved and to keep people comfortable with talking about what they've been through, what they're experiencing and even what they're going through, because, listen, we're not even out the woods. God is still bringing this out. It's a work in progress, it's a daily process. Right? I heard you say that you were an author. I heard you say that you were a singer-songwriter so many things that are going on that God is doing in your life. Tell us where we can find your music, your books, your platform.
Speaker 2:Tell us how we can reach you. Yes, I have a website, wwwdioraclariecom, which is spelled D-E-O-R-A-C-L-A-I-R-E, and I also have my music on Apple Music, on YouTube, on Spotify. It is everywhere under Dior Claire Re. As well as I have devotionals two devotionals on the YouVersion Bible app, and they are called Taking Action Against Depression, as well as Keep Breathing. God is Still Working On Instagram and TikTok, as well as Facebook. Facebook and it's under DiorClarie.
Speaker 1:May the Lord continue to enlarge your territory, continue to strengthen you, bless you, heal you, make you every wet hole in Jesus name, amen, amen.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, miss Eve, for this lovely platform. You are doing amazing work in the kingdom and for the kingdom.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you, I appreciate it, appreciate you being here with us. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful night. God bless you Gracias.
Speaker 2:You too, god bless you too, thank you.