STORMS & STRENGTH w/Katie Dale

Katie Dale has weathered the storms of serious mental illness and emerged as a powerful voice for change. As an author, speaker, and advocate, she uses her personal journey with bipolar disorder to fight for those too often overlooked by the mental health system. Through her leadership with the National Shattering Silence Coalition, Katie is on a mission to dismantle stigma, push for reform, and ensure that individuals with serious brain disorders receive the care and compassion they deserve.

ALLIÉ: Your journey with bipolar disorder began at 16, a time when most teenagers are just beginning to figure out who they are. Can you take us back to that moment—when your world suddenly changed—and what it felt like to navigate something so immense at such a young age?

KATIE: Yeah, for sure. I entered a new environment that year and switched from a large public school to a private school setting. The changes triggered a lot of fear in me, which then produced an avalanche of depression. When I tried to fit in – as most of high school is about – and when my expectations of what the new environment should be weren’t met, my disappointment turned to discouragement which turned into a downward spiral of thinking and feeling suicidal. It felt like the rug had been pulled from underneath. Not only was I facing an outside environmental dynamic but simultaneously an inner storm developed beyond my control.

ALLIÉ: You’ve been open about your psychiatric hospitalizations and how they shaped your path. What’s one moment from that time—whether painful, transformative, or both—that still stays with you today, and how has it influenced the way you advocate for others?

KATIE: My reality today has been reinforced by some pretty intense moments in 2012 in the hospital. There was another patient that approached me telepathically in the psych unit I was confined to. I wanted out, and this patient speaking in to my head supernaturally was telling me I could leave with him. I didn’t recognize him, so I stayed my ground. My “crazy” for being a zealous Christian is not the same as the “crazy” I experienced in psychosis, yet the mental and spiritual, physical too, are all intertwined. I discern today as I did back then, that there are things that cannot be explained any better in psychology than they can be spiritually, according to the Bible. Today, I teach and advocate for those that Jesus referred to as the “least of these” – those who can’t even help themselves because they don’t realize how sick they are. I also emphasize that God’s voice can still be heard through humility of heart and not necessarily while one is out of her mind. When I advocate, I want the person suffering to be treated with compassion and as as whole person – how I wanted to be treated when I was sick.

ALLIÉ: Mental illness is often misunderstood, and people living with serious brain disorders face immense stigma. If you could change one widespread misconception, what would it be, and why?

KATIE: That there are distinct separate faculties of the person, and that they each need to be cared for: the mental (how we process and project our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings), the physical (including biochemical imbalances that can effect our mental), the spiritual (the lens through which a person perceives truth and falsehood). They are all intertwined, like I mentioned, and all deserve to be addressed with compassion, especially when any are compromised.

ALLIÉ: As the Co-Chair of Communications Committee for the National Shattering Silence Coalition, you work to bring attention to the urgent needs of individuals with serious mental illness. What are the most critical changes you believe need to happen in our mental health system today, and how can people take action to help drive that change?

KATIE: There are macro and micro changes that are needed, so advocating at a grassroots level can help spread that awareness. I believe the most critical changes are to address SMI as a brain illness, to classify Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Schizoaffective Disorder as neuropsychiatric conditions and to reflect this in our mental healthcare laws, insurance policies, and treatment solutions as such. Calling representatives to repeal the IMD Exclusion, educating families on HIPAA and how to work with the hospitals, to providing long term housing solutions backed by federally funded and standardized medical policies. All of these measures need to be in place and enforced for the least of these and their families who can’t afford to be sole caregivers without the professional backgrounds and entire support team that’s needed. 

ALLIÉ: As a mother, wife, and advocate, you balance so many roles—each carrying its own weight. How do you care for your mental health today while continuing to fight for change in a system that so often fails those who need help the most?

KATIE: First thing I do when I wake up in the morning: coffee, meds, and quiet time. I start my day off the same way and the right way to continue my health. After making a cup of coffee to wake up, I take my mood stabilizer and antidepressant which keep me sane, and then I head to my desk to have a quiet time with God. That means I two-way prayer journal – writing out my prayers, dreams to God, and dialogue with him in the stillness of that place. He answers me, I write his answers back. Then I might read a devotional and search the Bible for answers too. I know the morning is the best time of day for me mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. This sets my day in the right direction and gives me time to work on my writing and other advocacy projects too. Putting God first, the rest falls into place. In doing this, He empowers me and I feel strengthened to face the day and be who I’m called to be. ∎