(Photo above by Adi Perets / Pexels)
Today’s episode is an inspiring story about how to navigate life after receiving a diagnosis, especially if unexpected and related to mental health.
Our guest is Dylan Parnell, a young man who practices Buddhism in Arizona. About 1 year after getting divorced at a young age, Dylan faced an unexpected health challenge that lead to him being hospitalized with psychosis, and then diagnosed with bipolar disorder and admitted to mental health facility for three weeks.
After getting out, he had to rebuild both his life and self-worth, almost from scratch. Today, he shares how chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo and studying Buddhism throughout this process helped him keep moving forward, step by step, in his words, to not be tied down by the cards he was dealt.
(You can also listen to Buddhability on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.)
Cheat Sheet
1:16 Meet Dylan
1:51 How he encountered Buddhism and why he started chanting
6:18 The unexpected health challenge he faced
9:55 How he used Buddhism while in a mental health facility
11:53 What enabled him to keep chanting
13:38 The small victories that came from doing his best
16:28 The steps he took to rebuild his self-worth after getting out
23:30 Three Buddhist concepts that helped him
29:52 How he stopped feeling like a burden to his family
35:07 What he is working towards now
37:04 How he learned to appreciate his mental health journey
41:30 Advice for anyone dealing with a diagnosis or unexpected challenge