I was born genetically disposed to a chemical imbalance that impaired my perception of the world around me without realizing it. A more modern kinder term is having a brain disorder.

For many years I was blinded by an incorrect belief that it would be impossible for my health to improve on any level. I saw a lot of different doctors from a young age complaining that there is something very wrong but they ignored me because I was young and were untrained medical doctors that didn’t recognize my symptoms. It is a fact that children can be afflicted with mental illness. I wasn’t correctly diagnosed until age 34. As you can imagine I am a major advocate for early diagnosis in children.

I had to do everything by myself which is why I stayed sick so long. Every doctor said you will not be cured so it doesn’t matter what you do. Yes I dove into addiction not drugs or alcohol thankfully.

My mind felt like a tornado of incoherent thoughts which provoked constant anger, hostility, daily suicidal ideations, paranoia toward everyone and everything. Without the benefit of a healthy mind or therapy to teach me how to learn healthy skills to communicate with others and myself I was unable to sustain any relationships besides my family of origin.

Even though I was taking medication and doing weekly therapy as my baseline regimen. While that helped it did not change my thinking that much.

Then about 3 years ago I decided that I was going to end the pain but instead I accepted Jesus as my savior and my mental health has improved exponentially in every way. God has taught me how to process my emotions in a healthy way and every morning I ask him to give me the strength and wisdom enough for that day including a good, stable attitude and he does.

For example, my whole life I believed the worst about my family of origin due to my broken perception problem. Today I realize they are not perfect but they are the perfect family for me. Also I have learned it is okay to love myself even in the midst of my imperfections. I have learned fail safe healthy ways to check my thoughts including asking questions to ensure my thoughts are real and not just an unhealthy thought.

The bottom line is that my disability will not be cured but by taking daily medication, doing weekly counseling, working 8 hours a week and having support from my family and acquaintances along with praying to Jesus everyday.

I am very happy to report I have peace of mind more often than not which has never
happened before I accepted Jesus as my Savior.
I have improved so much that I have become a published author. My first book was published in September of 2025. I wrote this book to help others struggling just like I do.

My book title: “PATHWAYS TO PEACE TRANSFORMATION IS POSSIBLE”
BY: M. LISSA BAILEY
(Barnes and Noble)