The Crazy Golf Pro: My Journey with Bipolar Disorder

Golf: My childhood dream came true when I became a member of the Canadian Professional Golfers Association (CPGA). In 1989 three years into what looked like a promising future as a CPGA golf professional my world was turned upside down with a devastating diagnosis of manic depression (bipolar disorder) and I ended up as a patient in the psychiatric ward for six weeks. This was my first fullblown manic episode. I was able to resume my career and achieve my goal when I was employed as a head golf professional in 1993 at a golf course in Alberta. Mental Health: Over the years I made several trips to psych wards to treat manic episodes. After every episode I would have a period of severe depression that would last for several months. My last time in a psych ward was at the infamous Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Port Coquitlam BC in 1999. In 2000 I was finally put on the right combination of psychiatric medications which I still take every day. Learning how to live a low-stress lifestyle and having Ellen as my wife for the last two decades have been extremely important in maintaining my wellness. I have now been well for twenty years with my bipolar disorder. To make things more difficult I was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in 1996 and diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in 2007. I write about these two additional mental illnesses in my book. Spirituality: Im not religious but I have had countless spiritual experiences over the last thirty years. Most of my amazing experiences happened when I was in a state of mania. Over the last twenty years I have read many books about the spiritual realm and some about the brain soul consciousness and bipolar disorder itself. As a result of this I have come up with my own mania spirit theory and describe this in my book.