“I crawled to the bathroom and couldn’t stand up without blacking out. ‘It’s a miracle you can even sit upright.’ I felt like I was drugged.”
‘You don’t need that, FAKER!’ She tried to muster energy to make it to the store. People rolled their eyes. I was powerless.’: Sisters battle multiple chronic illnesses, ‘We’ve gained a stronger bond’
‘I’ll deal with it when I graduate.’ I was drinking daily, but had NO CLUE how to ask for help. I was always reaching for the next drink.’: Woman overcomes alcohol addiction, ‘I’m healing’
“I bought a dog. I bought a house. Everyone thought I was doing great. But I had bottles of alcohol all around my house. I would wake up with full resolve to never drink again, and would find myself with a bottle in my hand by the evening. Things got really dark, really fast.”
‘It’s bad, and it’s everywhere. There’s too much to take out.’ I fell into his arms. We fought through the grief to stay one.’: Couple battling infertility adopts two sons, ‘We see perfection’
“I lived with a Fentanyl patch, which barely touched the pain. My uterus was sitting on my pelvic floor and had compromised my bladder. Our dream of two or three children became a hope we could just get ONE.”
‘What’s wrong with my baby?’ Her head was measuring large and her femurs were small. We were in denial this could happen to us.’: New mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘It DOESN’T define her’
“Everything had gone so wrong. ‘Did I eat something I shouldn’t have? Get exposed to something harmful?’ What was supposed to be the happiest part of our lives had turned into a nightmare.”
‘Will he live a normal life?’ There was silence. All I could think of were the things he WOULDN’T be able to do.’: Autism mom shares son’s diagnosis journey, ‘It is NOT an illness’
“At his 18-month appointment, the red flags were noted. He still had no words. ‘This is it. The life I thought I was going to have is over.’ Would he ever speak? Would he have the life I dreamed of him having?”
‘You ugly Dalmatian!’ He just laughed at me. ‘Why did God make me like THIS?’ I had to run away.’: Young woman with vitiligo fights for acceptance, ‘The struggle is worth it’
“I believed in God, but I did not understand: Why? Why me? Why did He allow me to become this ugly?” It got so bad that I had constant thoughts of ending my life.
‘What’s wrong now? You’ve got nothing to be sad about!’ I felt like I was the only one going through this. I blamed myself.’: Woman shares mental health journey, urges ‘fight for what you need’
“I was alone. No-one liked me, and I had no sense of belonging at all. I was a very lost teenager in a very big world. It was a difficult place to be in. I didn’t understand I was anxious or depressed.”
‘Maybe I’m just weak.’ I carried a 1-liter bag with all my pills for the day. I felt so guilty for what happened to me.’: Woman battling invisible illnesses says, ‘It’s not who I am, it’s just part of me’
“For over a year, I had a headache that never went away. ‘You’re too young to be taking so many pills.’ I was in so much pain I wanted to die. I felt like a burden to those around me.”
‘One day, I opened up her cookbook. Inside was an inscription. I cried tears I didn’t know I had.’: Woman honors late grandmother with tattoo, ‘I love you forever and always’
“Naming my child after my grandmother never seemed like enough. It never seemed like it was enough to pay tribute to the woman who meant more to me than I could ever express in words.”
I Took A Self-Care Getaway Without My Kids, Because I Was One Step Away From Crumbling
“We overthink and overanalyze. We fear we aren’t good enough, our kids don’t feel loved enough. Nothing is ever our own. Dinner, television, radio are all taken over by tiny people. We’re always one step away from crumbling. I so desperately craved a slice of life that was simply my OWN.”